The Lion King: Tale of a Wanderer
by Rydrake Kyuubi
Summary: - AU, I guess? - A new lion, Mwezi, is accepted into Simba's Pride. One day she realizes something's wrong. Together with Kiara and Kovu, can they stop something before it goes too far? And what of Mwezi's future?
1. Mwezi

The Lion King

Tale of a Wanderer

Chapter 1:

Mwezi

Some time during Simba's reign as King, a baby lion is born, somewhere outside of the Pride Lands. Instead, this cub is born in a luscious jungle, the original home of Timon and Pumbaa, which now belong to Timon's family. Some time after the cub's birth, one night, the parents disappear to search for food, but never came back. The cub lies perfectly still in a large bush of huge green leaves. One of the Meerkats, Timon's Uncle Max, was up late that night looking for a quick grub to grab. He sees the bush, knowing something is there. As he moves the leaves, he stumbles upon the baby lion, sound asleep and purring.

"{This cannot be good.}" he thinks as he looks around for the parents, but can't even pick up their scent. He looks back at the sleeping cub and says, "I better get you to Ma."

Some three months later, the cub is able to move and function properly. Ma and Uncle Max serve as "parents" to the cub, although she calls them as such. As the cub plays with the other Meerkats, Ma and Uncle Max start deciding on a name for the cub.

"Well, the cub's a girl, so she deserves a nice name." Ma says.

"Mmm, what about something like, Fluffy? Her coat's unusually thick." Uncle Max suggests.

"No. C'mon Max, think."

"Poofy?"

"How about Mwezi? It's pretty and you did find her during the night."

"It's your cub."

Yup, that's me, Mwezi, the three-month-old cub. My fur is unusually thick, and fairly dark. I even have a tuft of hair on my head. Although living with Meerkats is fun, I can't help but dream what life outside the jungle must be like. So one night, I sneak away from the jungle, and find myself among really tall grass, under a full starry sky with the moon shining brightly. I soon come upon a log over a river. As I try to start crossing it, something ahead starts moving the grass. I duck and cover my head, not knowing what the hell I just got into. Out onto the log appears a King, with an odd red mane.

"Huh? What are you doing out here, and so late at night?" he asks.

I look up and reply, "Exploring."

"Kinda late for an exploration. Where are your parents?"

"Dunno. They disappeared on me as a newborn."

"What? Then, how have you been living all this time?"

"A big family of Meerkats."

"Oh boy. I hope you don't think you are one."

"No."

"Well, it's dangerous out here at night. You better come back with me."

"To where?"

"The Pride Lands."

"Pride Lands?"

"You don't know what it is?"

"I've been living in a jungle; it's where I was born."

"Makes sense. What's your name?"

"Mwezi."

"Simba. Hmph, I have a little girl at home myself. Maybe having a sister will calm her down."

"You have a cub?"

"Yup. Her name's Kiara. You'd like her."

So I follow Simba back to his pride, and was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Pride Lands. I was a little bit nervous at how Ma and Uncle Max would react to me being gone, but maybe this was probably the best idea I've had growing up. Then came Pride Rock! It was huge, way bigger than the trees I knew. As Simba ascends, I stand below. He stops seeing I haven't attempted to climb.

"What's wrong, Mwezi?" he asks concerned.

"It's this place…it's huge!" I reply.

"There's no need to fear it. This is Pride Rock."

"…"

"Do you know how to climb?"

"My claws are too dull right now…"

"Dull?"

"Mmph, one of the Meerkats I know likes to file my claws."

"Well that's not good. Alright, hold on."

He comes back down and carefully lifts me up by the scruff and carries me to the top where a cave lies in wait for his return. He puts me down and begins to walk in, till he's caught off guard by a lioness, and she was pretty.

"Simba, where did you go?" she demands. Her voice was gentle…although right now it was demanding.

"I was just scouting, that's all." he replies. She shoots him a look.

"Okay, I was marking a path for Kiara. Which reminds me, I found a cub." he admits, moving aside so I'm seen.

"Aww, she's adorable! But, where's her-?" she asks. Simba shakes his head.

She looks back over and approaches. She sits down and says, "I'm Nala, Simba's mate. What's your name?"

"Mate? Like a spouse or something? And, it's Mwezi." I reply.

"Um, yeah, like that. I'm loving your fur. How is it so puffy?" she asks.

"I'm not sure. Probably an effect from being in a jungle." I answer.

"Uh, Nala, you and Mwezi can talk in the morning. She's looking tired." Simba says.

"Yeah you're right. Well, c'mon Mwezi. Welcome to the Pride." Nala says standing up.

The next day, I'm still dead asleep. That is, until I'm pounced on.

"Gah!" I yell.

"Kiara, that wasn't nice." Simba says.

"Daaaad, she's been sleeping all morning!" Kiara whines.

I come around from the sudden wake and sit up, trying to gain my vision.

"Augh, man, I'm still tired." I say rubbing my eyes.

"Morning sleepy head." a Meerkat says. I turn and find him on the back of a warthog and cock an eyebrow.

"Mwezi, meet Timon and Pumbaa, they're my friends. They live here too." Simba introduces. I simply wave, still confused.

"Hey there Mwezi, I'm Kiara." the cub says. I wave again.

"What's the matter Mwezi? Not used to the place?" Simba asks.

"Sorta, and I'm hungry." I reply.

"Nala and the lionesses should be back shortly. Why don't you and Kiara go play for a bit?" he says.

A bit reluctant, I get up and follow Kiara outside. As she descends Pride Rock, I look and watch how she does it. Descending was never my thing. She makes it all the way to the bottom and finds me still atop.

"Come on Mwezi, don't tell me you're afraid of heights!" Kiara calls.

"I-I'll be right there!" I call.

I then try looking for short jumps, which fails as my first attempt is a massive fall to the ground.

"Ouch. Are you okay?" Kiara asks.

I get up, shaking it off and reply, "Yeah, I think so."

"Good! Let's go! I'll show you around!" she says.

Just what I needed, more energy wasted. Well, it would've been a tour, but the lionesses had returned with success. I was kinda freaked at the sight of a dead animal; I grew up on bugs; they have protein.

"Wow, that's a big antelope!" Kiara says trotting over.

Timon and Pumbaa soon land in front of me with Timon saying, "We'll be back in a while. You know us, Big Guy." And Pumbaa trots off with Timon on his back.

Simba steps in front of me and notices the freaked expression and asks, "What's the matter?"

"…I don't think I've ever seen this before!" I reply.

"Sorry, but this is what lions eat." Simba says.

"Are you serious?" I ask.

Nala walks over and asks, "What's wrong?"

"I don't think Mwezi realizes she's a lion." Simba replies.

"Looks like someone needs to learn the ways of lions. Come on Mwezi, you're a meat eater. What did you think those sharp teeth were for?" Nala says.

"I dunno." I reply looking away.

"Mwezi, you better hurry up before it's all gone!" Kiara calls.

"It's up to you, Mwezi." Simba says.

They walk over to the catch. My stomach growls. It was now or never. I join in, being handed a piece by Kiara. I take it and place it in front of me.

On the first lick I suddenly realized, "So _this_ is what I've been missing!"

"Now she knows." Nala says as I happily dig in.


	2. The Three Stooges

Chapter 2:

The Three Stooges

After the meal, Kiara gives me the tour of the Pride Lands along with Timon and Pumbaa. We got to this tree that was oddly shaped, and carried many fruity scents. My curiosity soon gets the best of me and I try my best to climb it, but fail multiple times. That's when Timon noticed the way my claws were filed. At my last attempt, I fell flat on my head and rolled onto my stomach.

"If you plan on climbing anything, you should wait till your claws are sharp." Kiara says.

Timon then takes my right paw and forces out my nails by gentle pressing down.

"I know this filing anywhere! Ma and Uncle Max took care of you, right?" Timon asks.

"Y-yeah. How do you know them?" I ask.

"Look at me real good, kiddo. I used to live with them! I'm Ma's son! Pumbaa, knowing Ma she must be worried sick! We must go tell them!" Timon says jumping onto Pumbaa's head.

"But Timon, we can't leave the cubs behind." Pumbaa says.

"They're with the monkey, Pumbaa, they'll be fine. MUSH!" Timon commands.

"Okay, if you say so." Pumbaa says going into a trot.

"...That was weird." Kiara says.

That's when the said monkey appears. "Well if it isn't Kiara! Ah, so we have a new cub! What's your name?" he asks. He was a Mandrill that was fairly old; his beard was white.

"Mwezi." I reply.

"She's my adopted sister." Kiara says, wary of the monkey.

"Now why did Simba not tell me this? I am Rafiki, a very old friend of the great Mufasa, and to your dad, Simba." he says.

"Mufasa?" I ask.

"Before you freak, she's new to the Pride Lands. I'm showing her around." Kiara says.

"Ah yes, you look it, Mwezi. Well, stay on the path Simba's marked for you. Rafiki has a lot of work to do." he says going back into the tree.

"Um..." I try to say.

"Don't ask. Hey come on, there's still more for you to see!" Kiara says jumping around.

"O-okay. Hey wait a sec, what's that shadowy place?" I ask, seeing something the sun isn't touching very well.

"A place Dad says we shouldn't go to. I think it's called an Elephant Graveyard or something." Kiara says.

Suddenly, a herd of Zebra start rushing through. Both of us cry, "Stampede!" and run for our lives towards the graveyard. The Zebra started to engulf us, till we fell down the ledge into the small canyon. The Zebra tightly turned there. Both of us recover, coughing a bit.

"Are you okay, Mwezi?" she asks.

"*cough cough* Somewhat. Gah!" I say before seeing a large elephant skull.

"Whoa cool! Let's check it out!" Kiara says jumping up.

"I think we should go back." I say following.

"Are you kidding? We may never get another chance like this again! Come on!" she says playfully pulling my ear. Just then, we hear a loud squeal.

"What was that?" I ask freaked.

We limb up the skull and find three hyenas, one which looked hurt from a nast fall off a large rib cage.

"This is just great," says the female, "you just had to push him off the edge, didn't you, Banzai?"

"Hey don't look at me, he was practically asking for it!" Banzai replies.

"Kiara, we should turn back. They don't look very friendly." I suggest.

Just then I lose my grip and slide down the skull, soon going into a summersault and rolling right into the injured hyena.

"What the? A cub?" Banzai asks.

Kiara then jumps in and tries getting into an aggressive posture.

"Oh shit! Shenzi, I think they belong to Simba!" Banzai freaks.

"Okay, don't panic! Technically we're not enemies to him anymore. Remember how Scar turned on us?" Shenzi says.

The hurt hyena recovers, and starts nuzzling me. I'm revived by it and shake my head to regain myself.

"I don't get it, I thought all you guys ran off." Kiara says, calming down.

"Well, yeah we did. But we like to return here every now and then, just to fool around. I'm Senzi, he's Banzai, and he's Edd." Shenzi says.

"I'm Kiara, and she's Mwezi." Kiara says.

"Um, Shenzi, I think something's wrong with Edd, besides injury." I say.

The two walk over and inspect. He wasn't looking so good.

"Oh no, is he sick again?" Banzai asks.

"I think so. Damn, there isn't much we can do. If we go anywhere near the Pride Lands, we're done for." Shenzi says.

"Maybe we can help." Kiara says.

"Kiara, it's a great suggestion, but I think Simba's panicking enough by now." I say standing up.

"Mwezi, we can't let him die, it isn't right." she says.

"Hmm, I think I may have a plan. Can you kids find a small and stable rib cage for us? It'll serve well enough so we can all carry him." Shenzi says.

"You bet! Let's go Mwezi!" Kiara says running off.

"{I'd much rather lay under a tree.}" I think following.

"Shenzi, are you sure about this?" Banzai asks.

"Banz, we have no choice. Letting them help us is the only way that A) we can get into the Pride Lands safetly, and B) we can get something to heal Edd. He needs help anyway, thanks to you." Shenzi explains.

As we dash through the graveyard, we come across what Shenzi was asking for.

"This is perfect!" Kiara says.

"Hey, I found a patch of cattails here. We can tie them to the ribs and drag it back." I say.

"Great idea Mwezi. I'll help." Kiara says.

So we start to tie together the stems and use the tails as comfort for Edd. Soon we're dragging the cage back, quickly impressing the hyenas.

"You lions just keep getting smarter and smarter with each generation. Alright Banz, help me get Edd on." Senzi says.

Both the hyenas work together and get Edd on the cage. All that's left was to find a path back to the Pride Lands.

"Hmm, what if we try using that skull as a ramp? Otherwise, we'll have to go the long way around." I suggest.

"How are we going to move it?" Kiara asks.

That's when the earth below it gives way, and the skull lines up perfectly with the ledge.

"Like that." I reply smiling.

With our added help, we get the hyenas up and over the ledge, crossing into the border.

That's when we hear Simba call our names, "Kiara! Mwezi!" He rushes over with Nala and three other lionesses.

When he saw the hyenas, not only did he look confused, but he started growling at them. Both duck and cover their heads.

"Hold on Simba, something isn't right. Look." Nala says pointing to Edd.

"Dad please, Edd is sick, and hurt." Kiara says.

"They didn't attack us; they just want help." I continue.

"That's all we want, Your Majesty." Banzai says.

"Come on Simba, I know we were evil in the past, but we've all put it behind us, right? Please, help us." Shenzi says.

"Why are you three still here?" Simba asks. Edd whines.

"Simba, we can question them later." Nala says. "But, Nala!" Simba argues.

"Simba, we need to put the past behind us. Take a look at them, then our cubs. Mwezi and Kiara are still untouched." Nala explains.

Zazu flies in saying, "She's right. It isn't right to let them die, since they helped us defeat Scar in the end."

Not liking the situation, but making a hard decision, Simba says, "Okay. Let's get them to Rafiki. He should know what to do."

"Oh thank you, Simba! We owe you so badly." Shenzi says.

With that, the lionesses (except Nala) help pull the cage. Along the way, I noticed a some blades of grass that still had dewdrops on them. I pick those and put them on Edd's forehead. He seemed soothed.

A little bit later, we arrive at Rafiki's Tree, and Simba calls him down. He's explained the situation, and he examines Edd.

As he does so he says, "It appears that he has a slight fever, and a heavy bruise on his front left leg. I don't feel ahything broken."

"A fever? Well, at least it isn't too life threatening. I thought it was worse." Shenzi says.

"What should we do?" Banzai asks.

"Hmm, all we can do is keep placing cold leaf blades or large leaves on his head. I suggest keeping him out of the sun." Rafiki says.

He then looks at Simba. Then the two hyenas look at Simba.

After a big sigh he says, "Okay, you can stay with us. But only until he heals." Shenzi and Banzai rejoice. With that, we return to Pride Rock.

Throughout the rest of the day, we all take shifts changing the leaves on Edd's head. Within that time, Timon and Pumbaa return, only to get a look from Simba.

"Where were you two?" he asks.

"See Timon, I told you we should've stayed." Pumbaa says.

"Oh boy...well Simba, when I saw the way Mwezi's nails were filed, I knew that she was being raised by my Ma and Uncle Max, so Pumbaa and I rushed over to the jungle to tell them where Mwezi was, heheh." Timon explains.

"Oy. You two gotta be more careful. Mwezi and Kiara got caught in a Zebra Stampede earlier." Simba says.

"Aaahh! They aren't hurt are they?" Timon freaks.

"No, luckily, but now, we have new guests." Simba replies looking over at the hyenas. We let them stay in the back since it was coolest there, and the sun wouldn't reach Ed.

"Aaaahhhh! Hyenas!" both freak.

"Hey easy guys! They're not dangerous!" Kiara says.

"Not dangerous? Are you sure about that?" Pumbaa asks.

"We ran into them in the Elephant Graveyard and they didn't do a thing." I reply.

"Yeah, but how long will it last?" Timon says.

"Watch yourself, Meerkat." Shenzi warns, scaring Timon.

Days pass by, and Edd recovers. It's early morning and I'm first up, scratching my ear. I walk out to the edge of Pride Rock where a family of elephants pass by. Up in the sky, I find a rather large bird begin to swoop down. Only I realized too late, it's big enough to grab me! I try to rush back inside but I'm lifted away. I let out a loud growl, only being able to wake the hyenas and Kiara. They rush outside and find the bird with me in its talons.

"Not him again!" Banzai growls.

"Who is that bird?" Kiara asks.

"He's well known everywhere. Everyone calls him Big Meteor." Shenzi says.

"We gotta go save her! There's no time to lose!" Kiara says rushing down Pride Rock.

"Hold on Kiara! We're gonna need more than just us!" Banzai calls.

"Go tell the biggest animals you can find! We'll keep an eye on Big Meteor!" Shenzi says as the pass her on the way down.

Kiara rushes to the family of elephants nearby and the hyenas chase after Big Meteor. Minutes later, he finally lands in a tree in between the borders of the Outlands and the Pride Lands. I'm pinned down, unable to move. Nearby, two other lions watch.

"Whoa, it's him! It's Big Meteor!"

"Looks like he grabbed himself a good catch."

"Hold on, that isn't Simba's cub."

"Hey, you're right, for once. It looks like...one of us?"

"Impossible! I would've known!"

"Nothing's impossible. Nothing we can do."

"Nothing YOU can do anyway. That damned buzzard stole a good catch of mine last week! I was gonna present it to Mother till he snatched it!"

"What-Where do you think you're going, Nuka?"

"Off to kill that buzzard (so we can eat)!"

"...Dumbass."

As Nuka rushes towards the tree, the Hyenas are first to reach the tree.

"We need to act fast! What the?" Shenzi says as Edd starts kicking at the tree, causing it to shake.

"...He's got the right idea. Start kicking, Shenzi!" Banzai says.

Soon all three are using both hind legs to kick the trunk, making Big Meteor lose balance. I'm then thrown from the roost and onto a log that's acting as a bridge in between the borders. My claws haven't fully grown back yet.

"SHENZI! BANZAI! EDD! HELP!" I shout.

That's when Nuka appears at the last second, grabs me with his paw, tosses me back onto the Pride Lands border and goes for the bird. Just then, the same family of elephants comes charging in with Kiara on the male's back. The Hyenas and Nuka quickly move out of the way as all three ram the tree, forcing Big Meteor off and into the water. The male lets Kiara down as their job is done. A soaked bird can't fly, no matter what size they are.

"Mwezi! Are you okay?" Kiara asks. I sit up, shaking like a leaf.

"Oh dear, she's scared. Come here, Mwezi." Shenzi says pulling me close.

"I can't believe an Outsider just saved a Pridelander." Banzai says.

"Wasn't part of my plan, but I don't feel like getting killed." Nuka says.

"Then you better hurry back to your end before the King arrives." Shenzi says.

Nuka then realizes he's on the wrong side and quickly bolts back to his. He then sees Big Meteor in the river below and goes after him. That's when Simba and his entire pride close in.

"Is everyone okay?" Pumbaa asks. "Yeah, we're good." Kiara asks.

"Mwezi's fine too, just scared stiff." Shenzi says.

Simba breathes a big sigh of relief and says, "Thank God that's all that's wrong."

"Yeah, they saved her!" Kiara says. Although truth be told it was really Nuka, the hyenas went with it.

"Looks like we owe each other now. Welcome to the Pride." Simba says.

Banzai and Edd dance with joy. Shenzi hands me over to Nala. With that trouble overwith, we return to Pride Rock.


	3. Kovu

Chapter 3:

Kovu

Yesterday was spent trying to keep me calm and out of danger. Today is a new day as Kiara and I wake up. I go out to the edge to sit and look at the sunrise as she is caught by Simba.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" he asks.

As he moves her from the other edge she says, "Daddy! Let go!"

"I just want you to be careful." he says.

A butterfly passes by, catching Kiara's attention, but she's stopped when Simba puts his paw on her tail in the middle of a jump.

"Kiara, are you listening? Mwezi, come here a sec." Simba says. My ear twitches to my name, making me turn to look.

I walk over as he says, "Accidents can happen, you two. You could get hurt or stepped on-" Kiara continues, "-Hurt or stepped on, or even get lost."

"Smartypants." I say.

"...And remember, I want you to stay in the sight of Pride Rock at all-" he says as Kiara recites, "-At all times. And if I see any strangers, don't talk to them. Come straight home. Okay, okay, can I go now? Pleeeaaase?"

Nala and Zazu come out of the cavern as Simba says, "Hmm, very funny."

Losing interest, I walk back to the edge for more gazing.

Nala gently laughs and says, "Mind your father, Kiara."

"Are you okay, Mwezi?" Zazu asks.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay. Just...I dunno. I feel, bothered by something." I reply.

"Like what, Young One?" Shenzi asks.

"Mmph, I dunno. Maybe it was the event from yesterday, or something else." I answer.

"It shouldn't take long to figure out." Shenzi says.

"Hey Mwezi, let's go!" Kiara says decending Pride Rock. I follow out of boredom.

"And stay on the path I've marked for you!" Simba calls.

"Simba, who does she remind you of?" Nala chuckles.

Simba cluseless asks, "What? Who?"

"My, my, even as a King he has trouble with his memory." Shenzi teases.

"She's just like you were when you were young." Nala says.

"Exactly. Do you realize the dangers we put ourselves in?" Simba replies.

"Hahaha, you mean the dangers YOU got the both of you into." Shenzi says.

Nala nuzzles Simba and reassures, "They'll be fine. Mwezi will keep Kiara in line."

As she walks away Shenzi calls for Banzai and Edd, saying, "Let's go you two! Time to go look for food!"

Simba then calls over Timon and Pumbaa who were standing watching the sunrise. He tells them to go watch out for us.

Meanwhile on the path, Kiara chases a butterfly, and I try to keep up.

"Kiara! Slow down!" I call.

She leaps onto a rock, and looks over finding the Outlands and says as she sits on the top, "Cooool. The Outlands."

"Oh good, water." I say finding water next to the rock Kiara's on, going for a drink.

Footsteps from behind her are heard and as she turns to look, Timon, Pumbaa, and her start screaming out of shock, and Kiara falls in.

"Ack! Great, I'm wet." I say shaking off the water.

It was meaningless as I hear, "Don't worry Kiara! Uncle Pumbaa's comin'!" _SPLASH_!

Timon says, "Oh no! Ohh...uh...uh...let's see, uh...Gee Simba, the good news is, we found the girls. The bad news is, we dropped a warthog on one. Is...there a problem with that?"

As Pumbaa looks from side to side calling her name, Timon and I say simultaneously, "Pumbaa! Let me define 'babysitting'!"

Pumbaa quickly gets off and Kiara resurfaces, finally getting air.

Pumbaa says, "Sorry. Now Princess Kiara, as Simba's daughter, you should know better than to go off all alone. You could've been hurt."

Timon freaks and says, "Hurt? Oh your father would kill us!"

"Um, I exist too." I call, still soaked.

But Timon goes on examining Kiara. I shake off all the water and leap into the group. Kiara swats away a leaf that Timon was holding over her.

"Would someone just please listen to me?" she asks.

"I'm sorry; I wasn't listening. Did you say something Princess?" Timon asks.

"I'm not just a princess. That's only **half** of who I am." Kiara says.

"Oh, then who's the other half?" Pumbaa asks.

I reply, "Look at it this way: out of control half, in control half."

"That's not it." Kiara says.

I growl in return.

"Well while you're figuring that out, let's eat!" Timon says snapping his fingers.

Pumbaa walks over and using his tusks, lifts up a nearby half log with all kinds of bugs crawling around.

Timon picks one up and continues, "Grubs!"

He gathers some putting them on a leaf as Pumbaa says, "The other white meat."

"And so high in protein." Timon says offering to Kiara.

She responds, "Ewww! Gross!"

"No? How 'bout you, Mwezi? Don't tell me you grew out of them." Timon offers.

I grab a big red one (_identical to what Simba grabbed as a cub_), and say, "Thanks Timon."

As I slurp it up, Pumbaa suddenly coughs up his grub.

"Oh! I hate it when you do that! You try every one and then you put it back; it drives me crazy!" Timon says.

Pumbaa says, "But you can't tell on the outside which is the real slimy ones."

"I agree." I say.

"But Pumbaa my corpulent compadre, it's the crunchgy ones that make the meal." Timon argues, throwing one into his mouth.

Soon both are going back and forth saying slimy or crunchy. Kiara looks back over to the Outlands as I go to the log, lift it, and find another big red one. Kiara rushes off to the Outlands. I go to look back with it half hanging out of my mouth, but find she's missing.

"{Great.}" I thought as I gave chase, slurping it along the way.

She makes it to the bridge and slows to a walk, but falls off not watching her step and bowls into an outlander cub. He had very dark fur, and a black tuft on his head. He pops back up facing her and starts snarling.

She's startled as he asks walking toward her, "Who are you, Pridelander?" and continues growling.

Kiara starts to back off, and jumps around trying to keep him in front of her.

I call, "Kiara!" and jump in between, puffing out my fur and growling right back at him.

He gets confused and asks, "What the heck? What were you doing, and who are you, Cottonball?"

"My father says to never turn your back on an Outsider!" Kiara replies.

"Meanwhile he says for me to protect her." I reply.

"You guys always do what Daddy says?" he mocks. As Kiara replies no, I reply yes.

"I bet you do. Bet you're Daddy's little girl." he says to Kiara.

"Man, is it me, or am I being completely ignored today?" I ask, watching as he jumps onto a rock across the river.

"An outsider doesn't need anybody. I take care of myself!" he states.

Kiara's awed and follows him, while I stay behind and watch as a crocodile comes to life.

I cry, "LOOK OUT YOU GUYS!" The crocodiles start to attack.

As both start jumping for their lives, I run around in circles trying to figure out what to do. Then an idea! I rush back over the bridge and rush over to an edge where I was over the crocs. There are rocks nearby, so I carefully start swatting them at the the crocs, avoiding Kiara and the Outsider cub. Soon they race for the edge, jumping right over me. As both catch their breaths, all of us look over to see the crocs gather, unable to climb up the rock wall.

Kiara starts saying, "I did it...I did it!" and raspberries them. The cub laughs.

We move ino a clear patch in the grass and Kiara recounts the adventure, "Woah man-did you see those teeth? They were going 'Raararrarraa'! *giggle* He was just totally eatin' you right there and I jumped on his head! And you, you were really brave."

"Yeah? You were pretty brave too. My name's Kovu." he says.

"I'm Mwezi." I say.

"I'm Kiara." she says. She then starts to playfully tag him.

"Um Kiara, I don't think he knows what Tag is." I say.

"Oh." she says.

Then she starts jumping around and mock growling. Kovu gets the idea and mock snarls back, but the Simba appears out of nowhere, jumping in front of us and roars. A lioness jumps in front of Kovu and roars back.

"Oh shit!" I shout and dash out of the grass towards Pride Rock before crashing into Pumbaa.

I recover and continue my dash till Edd appears and catches me in his mouth. Nala and some lionesses join Simba, along with the now recovered Timon and Pumbaa.


	4. Hunting

Chapter 4:

Hunting

The introductions between the Outsider Lioness and the Pridelanders breifly start till it reaches, "Timon. Pumbaa. Great, now that we all know each other...GET OUT OF OUR PRIDELANDS!" Timon shouts.

"_Your_ pridelands?" Zira snarls.

This scares Timon, as he ducks into Pumbaa's hair. Edd and I were still at a distance.

"Damn, she's one scary cat!" I say. Edd whines in agreement.

Simba demands, "I banished you from the Pridelands. Now you and your young cub...get out!"

Zira says, "Oh, haven't you met my son, Kovu? He was hand-chosen by Scar to follow in his pawprints...and become King!"

Timon says, "That's not a king. That's a fuzzy maraca!"

Zira continues, "Kovu was the last born before you exiled us to the Outlands, where we have little food, less water..."

"You know the penalty for returning to the Pridelands!" Simba says.

"But the child does not! However...if you need your pound of flesh...here." Zira says pushing Kovu closer to Simba.

Kovu trembles in fear.

"There is no way he'd beat up Kovu...he's a cub too." I say.

Simba says, "Take him and get out. We're finished here."

He picks up Kiara and Zira says, "Oh no Simba, we've barely just begun!"

She walks over and picks up Kovu and everyone starts to move out. Edd lifts me up by the scruff and all of us head back to Pride Rock.

"{Man this sucks! I hope I'm not in trouble at least...}" I thought.

By sunset, we had all gotten closer to Pride Rock. However Simba stops, making Edd stop to await orders.

Nala notices and asks, "Simba?"

He simply clears his throat, and she understood, smiling back.

As the lionesses clear, Simba places Kiara on a rock and turns to Edd saying, "You can head back with the lionesses. I'm gonna talk to Kiara."

"So, am I in trouble?" I ask.

"Well, I expect a full story of what was going on. I know for a fact you're not the kind to run off." Simba replies.

With that Edd takes me back and as soon as we were clear out of hearing range, Simba begins his talk with Kiara.

"...Why, do I feel guilty, Edd?" I ask.

A small humming sound indicated he wasn't sure. He goes into a trot to catch up with the others, and when we were in the middle he lets me go. I think by now I had teeth marks in my skin...

That night I had a lot of trouble sleeping. Something was calling me, and driving me nuts. I got up, not daring to wake anyone, and snuck out of Pride Rock. I descend rock by rock and make it to the ground where I go into full running mode towards the Outlands. I looked a lot more like those lions compared to the ones here. I needed answers; I was a cub on a slight journey of self-discovery.

When I got to the log bridge a while later, I stopped and thought, "{The minute I cross this bridge, I'll either be killed...or get in trouble.}"

Then I hear a lioness call, 'It's that cub again."

Shit...I got caught that easily? Across the way was the lioness from before, Zira.

"Ah, Kiara's sister I presume." Zira says.

Far to her right stood Nuka and a female cub.

"You're Zira, right? I'm not here looking for a fight; I can't do it anyway." I ask.

"Do you realize you could get in trouble for even coming here?" Zira snarls.

"Look, I know I'm only so young, but I wanna know something. Why do I look more like you guys and less like the Pridelanders?" I ask.

"Is that all?" Nuka asks.

"Hmm, I had a feeling you might come here to ask." Zira says.

"Then tell me." I demand, trying to look tough like Simba.

"Sorry, can't do that." Zira says turning her back.

"What? Why not?" I ask.

"Look kiddo, you're much to young for that explaination. However, when you get a little bigger, I could explain it to you." Zira says.

"Oh what, so you can fight me then?" I ask.

"Not entirely, child. I will say this, only because it's the truth: right now you're too young to comprehend why you look the way you do. When you're older, you'll be able to handle it." Zira replies.

She's right. She walks away, being joined by Nuka and her cub. Feeling a sense of "defeat", I turn tail and head back. This is gonna bug me for a while. Tch, if there were anymore hyenas left, they might know. Or maybe, if Mufasa was still alive, I could've asked him. Wait, what about that mandrill from before? Maybe he knows! I rush over to his tree and start scratching at the roots, figuring it'll get his attention.

Minutes later he appears saying, "Hey! What are you doing, Mwezi?"

I look up and reply, "I wanna know why I look the way I do!"

"Urk...Mwezi, you're much too young to understand. I'll tell you when you've matured more." Rafiki says.

He reteats back. DAMN! I want to know! Grrr...damn...looks like I have no choice. I'll have to wait till I've become a lioness.

A lot of time passes. Kiara and I are getting bigger, reaching adulthood. One night in Rafiki's tree, he is drawing new pictures of Kiara, me, and Kovu.

"Oh Mufasa, everyday Mwezi and Kiara grow more beautiful, into Queens that'll someday make us all very proud. But this cub Kovu, who grows stronger, and Zira fills his heart with hate. I am very worried, Mufasa. Things are not going well." he says. A breeze picks up, rattling the guords.

"Hmm? You have a plan?"

A guord falls and breaks in half. Rafiki picks it up and holds it up to the picture (me excluded).

"What? Kiara...Kovu...together? ARE YOU CRAZY? This'll never work! Oh, Mufasa you've been up there too long. You're head is in the clouds!"

The winds blows harshly as a response.

"Okay, okay, okay! Okay! All right-OKAY! I do not think this will work, but I trust you. I just hope you know what you are doing!"

The wind blows upward.

"...Hmm, what about Mwezi though? *sigh* I suppose she's gonna want an explaination of her origins soon, seeing as how she's becoming an adult. Heh, what a fine gift for her..."

Days later, it's time for our first hunt. My fur, even now, is still poofy. Nala is first to emerge and joins a worried Simba at the end of the assembled lionesses.

Before Kiara emerges I say to her, "I don't know about this. I mean, I hardly have any muscle tone to myself."

She replies, "Don't worry, Mwezi. I'm sure Daddy will have us working together. I mean, you're the wise one."

I try to smile. She goes out first. The lionesses start to compliment her. I was growing nervous. What if I were to fail?

I'm then nudged by Shenzi and she says, "It's time, Mwezi. You've come a long way since you were a cub."

I nod. I emerge being accompanied by the Hyenas. I too was getting positive compliments. That made me feel better.

Near the end, Sarafina, Nala's friend, says, "You've grown so well, Mwezi." The Hyenas take their place across from Simba.

I'm nuzzled by Nala and she says, "You two will do great."

Kiara says, "Daddy, you have to promise to let Mwezi and I do this on our own. Promise?"

Simba glanes over at Nala and she raises an eyebrow at him.

He replies rolling his eyes, "All right. I promise."

"Thanks Daddy." Kiara says and runs off.

"Don't worry Simba, Kiara and I will work together and come back victorious!" I reassure, soon following Kiara.

"Shenzi, I'm a bit worried for Mwezi." Banzai says.

"Yeah, I am too. Over her time as a cub, she never gained too much muscle tone. But, I have faith in her. If she can't attack, she'll outsmart her prey, and probably have Kiara strike." Shenzi says.

"I hope you're right." Banzai says.

Hearing this, Edd backs away slowly and sneaks off, following our path.

Simba moves over to Timon and Pumbaa quietly saying, "Make sure neither get hurt."

They act as if they're doing nothing, and soon hurry off to follow Edd into the feilds.

Out in the feilds minutes later, Kiara and I spot a herd of antelope.

I say quietly, "Okay Kiara, I have an idea. You have more muscle than me, and I have speed. I'll try to encircle these guys and draw them close to you."

She replies, "Okay, just be careful."

So I slink over and still remaining in the tall grass I begin to slowly circle the herd. They become warry, but don't run off. I go into a trot to build a sense of something being nearby. Then a full-blown dash. It was working, till Kiara made an untimely move and the herd ran off in another direction.

"Damn!" she says. We both rush after them.

I say to her, "I'll need to try something different! Just stick to my signals!"

"Got it!" she says.

When we're finally able to stalk the same herd, somewhere out in the feild were Edd, Timon, and Pumba, sneaking around in a military fashion. Timon was in a hollow log, Pumbaa somewhat behind a tree, and Edd behind a rock.

Timon acts as if he's holding a walkie-talkie and says, "Tango-Charlie-Alpha. What's your position?"

Pumbaa confused replies, "Uhh... Upright...head slightly turned to the left...tail erect." Edd giggles.

Timon says annoyed, "Why do I bother?" He scans the horizan till we're in his sights. "Ah hah!" he says.


	5. Enemy Infiltration

Chapter 5:  
Enemy Infiltration

As Kiara and I try to ambush a herd of antelope, I hear her step on a stick from the other side. Having no choice and needing to complete the task at hand, we both give chase. These guys are faster than I expected! Then again, I was never great at running, since I lack muscle tone for some reason; hence why I'm constantly the brains. I then notice Kiara easily overtaking me as we keep chasing; this wasn't good. I need to figure out a way to get to the front of the herd, however, this is quickly ended when I trip over my own paws and slam into the ground. Suddenly as I recover, I hear Timon, Pumbaa, and Edd shreik. I turn to find Kiara spotted them.

Kiara asks sternly, "Timon...what are you doing here?"

"Heh, guess I'm not perfectly fit to be watching you, sis." I say sitting up, tail curling in half frustration.

Timon replies as Pumbaa nods his head mid-sentence, "Uh...shopping! We thought a nice pelt for the den...some throw-pillows, a little potpourri..."

Kiara replies upset, "My father sent you. After he promised to let us do it on our own--he lied!"

"I doubt that." I reply tilting an ear.

"Mwezi's right! He just doesn't want you guys to get hurt." Timon replies taking my side.

Edd starts to whimper sensing danger.

"It sounds reasonable. I mean c'mon, lionesses that just nearly turns a year old suddenly off hunting; I'd be worried myself." I say agreeing with Simba's ways of doing things.

Kiara growls, "Who's side are you on Mwezi? Ngh, I should've he'd never give us a real chance."

She suddenly continues towards the herd saying, "I'll do this on my own! Away from the Prodelands!"

"Ah shit..." I say reluctantly following.

"Hey! Wait! Oh...can Mwezi keep track of her? Kiara--come back!" Timon calls.

He hops up on Pumbaa's head, together they and Edd give chase, but we're too far ahead. Edd looks off in another direction picking up sounds.

Timon says in worry and aggrivation, "Oh...they're gone again! Somebody's gotta get beepers for those kids!"

Far ahead, I lost sight of Kiara completely. By now I had plopped to the ground exhausted and trying to catch my breath. There was no way in hell I could catch up with her; there's too many smells here. Suddenly, I start smelling smoke. A zebra jumps over me followed by a few birds overhead. I sit up and notice the sky's red glare; Kiara's in trouble!

"Shit! What am I gonna do? Uh, let's see....uhmmmm..." I say thinking under pressure, heart racing.

As I pace in some circles really quick, it finally came to me.

"There's a river nearby! Chances are I'll find her on the other side! But where the hell is the river?! Ack, why does my geography have to suck so bad?" I say formulating a plan only to end in failure.

Just then I notice the fire beginning to surround me. Not thinking in total panic, I try to dash out, but the fire locks me in. I'm completely trapped with no where to turn. In fear, I start letting out cub-like help calls mixed with full-grown roars. I could jump throughthe fire, but the issue being I need enough speed to jump through it unharmed; this circle's too small. The fire begins to close in. Just then, I hear galloping footsprints from outside the fire; someone's heard me! I keep letting out calls to help them find me. I then see a very muscular Lion jump in, grab my scruff, and jump out, tossing me a few feet away.

After landing not-so-gracefully on my feet, I notice the Lion is Simba! Oh shit, it's Simba...

"Mwezi, where's Kiara?" he quickly demands.

"No time to explain! C'mon, we need to head towards the river!" I reply dashing off as he quickly keeps up.

Later, we make it to a pool of water where Kiara and another lion are. Simba calls Kiara and jumps in front of her, growling and snarling. I flop to the ground completely exhausted as Nala gives me a quick headbutt, and goes to Kiara doing the same.

"Kiara! I'm glad you and Mwezi are alright." Nala says.

Kiara demands, "Father...how could you break your promise?"

"It's a good thing I did. I almost lost you both. No more hunts for you two; not ever!" Simba replies mad.

Kiara responds, "But we were doing just fine! Even before Kovu--"

"Kovu?!" Simba replies, roaring at Kovu as Kovu roars back.

Nala is surprised at Simba's ferocity.

"So that's who that lion is...{something doesn't smell right...}" I say going into thought.

Shenzi appears and nudges me saying, "Mwezi, you lucky cub, you! It's a good thing I taught you what to do in those situations!"

"You gotta stop calling me a cub." I say getting the strength to sit up.

Suddenly we all here Rafiki saying from a hilltop, "Hey! You! How dare you save the king's daughter?"

Simba demands, "You saved Kiara? Why?"

"{Oh yeah, save the important lioness.}" I thought rolling my eyes.

Kovu replies, "I humbly ask to join your pride."

"No! You were banished with the other Outsiders!" Simba immediatley says.

Kovu explains, "I have left the Outsiders. I am a rogue. Judge me now for what I am...or am I to be blamed for a crime I didn't commit?"

"Oh, this just got interesting." I say with a sadistic smirk, tail curling as an added effect.

Simba starts to snarl and pace around as Nala looks hard at him. I simply start drawing things in the dirt with my nail.

Nala says keeping the hard look, "Simba, you owe him Kiara's life."

Zazu appears saying, "Mmm...yes, sire. Clearly we are in his debt...and royal protocol demands that all debts be paid. Though in this case you may want to make an exeption."

"Oh please, buzz off, Chew Toy!" I say playfully trying to pounce Zazu.

As Simba paces a bit more, he makes his decision, "Hmmm. My father's law will prevail. For now, I reserve judgement. We'll see who you really are."

As Kovu inwardly smiles and looks sidelong at Kiara who smiles back. Zazu turns his back on him. Although Shenzi couldn't care less, she makes a quick growl at Kovu, turns her back with her tail up, and walks away. I follow her as I try to catch the airborne Zazu for fun. We all follow Simba back to Pride Rock with Kovu.

Night starts to fall. Most of us start to head in, Simba notices Kovu trying to get in. Simba jumps in front with a growl and intimidates Kovu away from the cavern. With that, Kovu heads over to the rocks to sleep. As Shenzi heads in with Edd, who we had to find because he got lost, I head for the cliffpoint of Pride Rock, looking out at the now burned hunting ground. I try to recall the event in my mind, trying to figure out what went wrong. Although I could here Kavu and Kiara talking, I didn't bother to pay attention, that is, till Simba's voice scares the crap out of me.

Simba calls, "Kiara! Mwezi!"

I nearly jump a mile and slip over the edge, grabbing onto the edge for dear life with my claws. As I try to climb back up, I slip and fall, landing hard on my back at the bottom with a painful growl. This was going to cost me big tomorrow. I roll over to my side and stand up. As I made my way towards the steps, I started to think.

"Meh, why should I bother? The ramp on the other side is much easier." I say to myself.

I rush over to the other side and dash up the ramp. Nala is sticking out the cavern, quickly spotting me as I near the cavern.

"What happened? You're covered in dirt." Nala asks.

"Simba's sudden call spooked me and I slipped off the edge. I'm okay." I reply actually in pain and not showing it.

"You need to be more careful when you'rte lost in thought. Come, it's time for bed." Nala replies turning back inside.

As I head back in, Kovu jokes, "Couldn't land on your feet, huh, pretty kitty?"

"Oh shut the f*ck up, Kovu. I may not be as graceful as I should be, but I can back it up with my intelligence. You have yet to see my full potential." I reply puffing out my chest to look bigger.

"My ass you have intelligence." Kovu says.

I throw my head and tail up and make my way into the cavern. Kovu lies back down to sleep.

The next morning, I head out to the burned area. Something about this fire wasn't right. Not to mention, a different emotion was clouding my mind, blocking me from thinking straight. All I could think about was yesterday into last night; then I started thinking and picturing Kiara's future. She and Kovu are so going to fall for each other, leaving me with nothing. But fighting over him is pointless; I'll lose to Kiara hands down at the rate I'm going. I was lucky enough to join the pride as a cub, but now...I don't know. I'm pretty sure there's a limit as to how many lions can be in a pride, unless they're related. I'm not related to Kiara by any means; I could create my own pride if I wanted. But a lioness without muscle tone is no use for hunting. All I have is this thick fur.

Feeling a sense of failure, I turn back towards Pride Rock. As I turn to do so, I'm confronted by an odd Lion. He wasn't an Outsider, as his fur was a pale gold color, and a dark brown mane. He looked to be Simba's size, but around the same muscle tone as Kovu. This wasn't either, however.

"Who are you?" I ask trying to turn away.

"Relax. I'm a rogue lion." he replies, his voice deep and oddly calming.

"I've heard that one before." I say trying to walk away from him.

"Hey, where are you going? Aren't you an Outlander?" he asks.

I growl and turn yelling, "I'm a Pridelander, asshole! I'm in Simba's Pride!"

"Simba? You mean that Mufasa look-alike?" the lion asks.

"Yeah, exactly." I snarl not liking the lion.

"Hey, take it easy. It's not like you're in season." the lion says.

"In season? What the hell do you mean by that? Get the hell away from me!" I say dashing towards Pride Rock.

The lion sits down confused.

Back in the Pridelands a little while later, I find Timon, Pumbaa, Bonzai, Kiara, and Kovu exiting a gorge. They were laughing about something. I trot over in order to get answers.

As I near them I call, "Hey you guys!"

"Hm? Ah, it's Mwezi! What's up, kitty-cat?" Bonzai asks in a good mood.

"I just got confronted by an odd lion." I reply.

"An odd lion?" Pumbaa asks.

"I can beat him up for ya if he hurt you." Kovu offers.

"I'll take you up on that offer. He was just being a creep is all. Saying I'm not 'in seasin'. Does anyone even know what that means?" I reply pacing in a circle.

Everyone looks at each other, obviously knowing what "in season" meant. Although Timon was happy to answer my question, Pumbaa easily trots away, keeping Timon from being blunt. As much as they wanted to explain, they have no way of doing so. This left me confused.


	6. Enlil

Chapter 6:

Enlil

Banzai, Kovu, Kiara, and Timon and Pumbaa and I walk around the Pridelands as Banzai tries to explain what "in season" means, but can't seem to really find the right words. Kiara tells him to not bother and let either Shenzi or Nala explain it to me instead. Not completely concerned, I brush off my encounter with the odd lion and look towards the river. The sun was making it sparkle and a family of hippos swims against the weak current. Suddenly, we could hear a sound in the distance, and it slowly grew louder.

"What the…?" Timon asks, "What's a plane doing flying over the Pridelands?"

"Plane? What's a plane?" Kovu asks.

Pumbaa describes, "A plane is this big, metal bird-like machine that carries humans through the sky to faraway places. They're very noisy when you're not inside them."

Banzai asks feeling uneasy, "It's not gonna attack us, is it?"

"Nah, planes don't attack animals! But we don't get many passing over us." Timon replies.

At least Timon was right for once. The plane does get louder as it passes over, but we notice something fall out of it. It falls fast until it crash-lands in the river, causing a big splash. After the waves, we could see it bobbing up and down as it floats down the river.

That's when we can hear someone crying out from inside this odd box, "He-hey! I-is anyone out there? Help!"

"Someone's in there!" Kiara says.

I rush over to the river's edge with the others close behind, and look over at the family of hippos that had turned to see the box.

I call out, "Hey, can you guys block that box from going any further?"

"Of course!" the father replies, soon turning to his kid, "You stay right here, okay?"

The child agrees, and the two parents make their way to the box. Having greater speed in the water, the hippos make it to the box, go around it and block it from floating any further. An elephant passing by sees what's going on and helps out by grabbing onto the bars and with the help of the hippos, pulls the box out of the river. We rush over only to find a lock was keeping the animal inside from getting out. The elephant pulls and yanks at the lock, having no luck ripping it off. The elephant grabs a rock from the river and uses it to bang against the lock, making short work of it. The elephant then tips the crate over so the bars are not towards the sky, and the animal jumps out, shaking the water out of his fur.

Just what kind of animal was he? He was as around Kiara's size, not very tall, but had the length to make up for it. He was orange with black stripes like a Zebra, and had a small mane; not a full one like the lions. This cat's really beautiful; his fur just shines under the sun's light. Banzai could tell I was starting to fall for this odd cat as my tail was curling tightly, and he wasn't liking it.

Kiara is first to ask, "Excuse me, but, what are you, exactly?"

"Hm? Oh, my apologies. I must thank you all for rescuing me. My name is Enlil, which in Sumerian means 'Lord Wind'. I am a Sumatran Tiger…who was somehow subdued and placed in that crate. And now I'm here." Enlil replies.

Kovu snorts at this and says, "So your name means '_Lord_ Wind', huh? You don't look like a lord."

Enlil responds, "To be honest, I ruled my forest with great pride. But now, I'm in a desert."

I correct, "You're in the Pridelands. It really isn't too much of a desert; we have grasslands and a jungle and stuff."

"Is that so? In that case, who is your ruler? I'd like to speak with him." Enlil asks.

"Just follow me, buddy." Banzai says taking the lead.

With not much else to do, we follow Banzai to Pride Rock after thanking the elephant and hippos. Banzai was keeping Enlil next to him within his line of sight, showing aggressive signs like baring his teeth.

At Pride Rock, Edd with playing with a lioness tugging on a bone he found within the cavern. Neither side was giving way. Simba is at the edge of the rock, looking out and scanning his territory, soon spotting us. He sees Enlil and is confused by his appearance, but not becoming angered. He turns and trots down the ramp as the lioness manages to rip the bone from Edd's mouth, causing him to do a backwards summersault. Simba quickly greets all of us and Enlil.

I introduce, "Simba, this is Enlil, a Sumatran Tiger. Enlil, this is Simba, king of the Pridelands."

Enlil says, "Ah, so you're the ruler. Pleased to meet you."

Simba replies with a gentle smile, "Yes, I'm the king around here. How did you get here?"

Enlil answers, "Well, I was simply hunting for food when out of nowhere I feel something sharp enter my neck. Next thing I know, I'm unconscious and in a crate in this noisy flying thing. Then, for some reason, I wind up falling out and into the river over there where these guys save me. So now I must ask, is there a place for an out-of-place tiger to stay?"

"That sounds pretty scary. You speak as if of royalty, too." Simba says, impressed by his speech.

"Ah yes, I was the ruler of my forest. I had no choice but to rise up after my mother disappeared; my father left before I was born. Ironically, my name means 'Lord Wind'." Enlil says, sitting down.

Nala comes from the ramp saying in a friendly tone, "Oh my, you are out of place. If Simba allows it, you're welcome to stay here at Pride Rock."

Simba says, "I can't exactly say no; it's not like he's done anything wrong."

Enlil bows his head saying, "Thank you, King Simba. I shall help out any way I can; all you have to do is ask."

Simba laughs and says, "I'll hold you to it. How about I show you around?"

"Sounds good to me. I need to adapt to my new surroundings." Enlil says standing up and following Simba.

Nala giggles and says, "Looks like Simba has a new friend now."

"Yeah well, whatever. I don't like him." Banzai says heading up the ramp.

"What's gotten into him?" Kovu asks.

"I dunno. Banzai's always had an attitude." Timon says.

"I kinda feel bad for Enlil. He got ripped out of his home with no clue of why or how." I say sitting down.

"At least Father's letting him stay without too much trouble." Kiara says before changing the subject, "C'mon Kovu, you still need to teach me to hunt."

"In that case, let me come along; I want to see you fail." I say.

Nala shakes her head knowing I've always playfully teased Kiara about hunting as cubs. She would always come back with a retort about my muscle tone which would lead into a playful fight. She decides to head back up to the cavern where she sees Banzai talking to Shenzi about Enlil.

"Oh stop being so jealous, Banzai. Mwezi finding a mate is inevitable." Shenzi says.

"Oh come on, Shenzi! Enlil's not even a lion! And Mwezi's looking at him like she's not even alive or something!" Banzai argues.

Nala laughs and asks, "Is that why you're in a mood, Banzai?"

"Oh I think I know what's going on here…you're jealous, aren't you?" Shenzi asks getting in Banzai's face.

Banzai pulls his head back, ears back with a scowl, "Jealous? What are you talking about?"

Zazu flies in landing on Nala's back and says, "Oh please, it's written all over your face. You, Shenzi, and Edd have been making sure Mwezi grew up safe for so long, you became attached and took on a role. And now that she has a crush on that new cat, your feel threatened."

Timon looks at him as Pumbaa passes by saying, "Sheesh, ya like being blunt, don't ya?"

"I don't feel threatened…but you're about to be!" Banzai says biting at Zazu.

Throughout the rest of the day, Kovu trains Kiara in learning to hunt more silently, and working together with me to succeed in getting our target. It works as he takes the role of the prey and the both of us pouncing one after the other. Day starts to quickly turn to night and we are joined by Enlil, taking curiosity in our training. Simba wasn't with him, but instead was off elsewhere taking care of an argument between a zebra and an antelope. Pretty soon, we're lying on our backs looking up at the stars in the sky seeing what shapes they take on. Kovu had found one that looked like two lions battling over a scrap of meat, though it isn't Kiara's cup of tea.

"Hmm…oh, there's one that looks like a bird." Enlil says.

"Dude, I totally see a crocodile! See the long tail and snout?" I ask.

Kovu calms down from his laughter saying, "Ah, I've never done this before."

Kiara asks, "Really? My father, Mwezi, and I used to do this all the time. He says all the Great Kings of the Past are up there."

"I believe it. There have been rulers of the forest before me. I was always told that if they were honorable rulers, they were granted passage to the heavens above. If not, I was told they'd be reincarnated into prey." Enlil explains.

"Reincarnated?" I ask.

Enlil nods answering, "It means that if one dies, the soul is placed into a newborn body."

"That sounds kind of cool." Kovu says.

"We don't have that here. We have the Circle of Life; we hunt the antelope. If we die, our bodies become the grass…and the antelope eat the grass." I say, looking down.

"Reincarnation is a form of Circle of Life. We tigers hunt prey on other animals. When we die, we're either going to heaven, or being brought back as prey." Enlil tries to explain.

"Whichever the case may be…" Kovu starts, "…do you think Scar's up there?"

We all look at him as he looks at us. Kovu's suddenly troubled by the thought, and gets up. We follow suit save for Enlil who sits up with a concerned look.

Kovu says, "He was never my father, but he still…" he sighs gently and continues, "a part of me."

Enlil says, "King Simba told me of Scar…"

Kiara interrupts, "My father said there was a… a darkness in Scar that he couldn't escape."

"…if Scar was good as a cub, he may have been given the chance to enter the heavens." Enlil concludes, trying to bring comfort to Kovu.

Kovu starts to think aloud, "Maybe there's a darkness in me too."

Kiara moves close to put her paw on his and she starts to nuzzle him. I sit there distraught with my ears lowered. Enlil nudges me saying that we should leave them alone. With not much choice, I scratch at the ground as a way of telling Kiara I'm leaving. She scratches in return, letting me know she heard me. I leave with Enlil.

Some distance away, Simba is watching from a hilltop. Although he appears glad I've taken interest in someone with no dark background, he can't help but look at Kiara and Kovu.

He soon looks up at the sky addressing it, "Father… I am lost. Kovu is one of them. Scar's heir. How can I accept him?"

That's when Nala approaches from behind asking, "Simba?"

Simba replies, "I was… seeking counsel from the Great Kings."

"Did they help?"

"Silent as stars. My father would never—"

"Oh, Simba… you want so much to walk the path expected of you. Perhaps Kovu does not."

"What? How did you know what—"

"I can see them down there just as easily as you can. Get to know them and see."

As Nala turns to walk off, Simba follows after a moment of hesitation. They don't get far when they see Banzai crawling close to the ground behind a low-set rock as Enlil leads Mwezi away from Kiara and Kovu. Unfortunetly for him, the rock ends, and he slowly sits up, watching them leave the area. His ears go back and growls at this. Nala sees a pebble on the ground and flicks it over at Banzai. The pebble hits the rock and startles him, causing him to jump and fumble over the other side of the rock, falling on his back.

Simba and Nala trot over to see if Banzai is okay, much to his annoyance he gets back up without problems. He shakes off the dirt that gathered in his fur, and looks over at the two.

"Banzai, what are you doing? You hate coming out here at night by yourself." Simba asks.

"I'm just making sure that tiger doesn't make any sudden movements." Banzai replies, turning his head away.

"You need to take it easy. I've been with Enlil all day; he's a really great guy. Very polite, loves to swim, very smart—" Simba tries to say before Banzai cuts him off, "I don't give a shit what he's like! I've practically _raised_ Mwezi behind the scenes! I basically taught her how to be sneaky and silent."

"Banzai, easy. At some point, Mwezi would've found someone. If it was another lion, you'd probably be acting the same way." Nala says.

"Not the point. I just don't want her getting hurt in any way. After the hunting ground catching on fire, I've gotten really worried." Banzai says.

"Well then, why don't you get to know Enlil? I'll be talking with Kovu tomorrow." Simba suggests.

Banzai's ears point up and towards Simba in surprise asking, "Are you serious?"

"Very. C'mon, let's head home." Simba replies.

Banzai hesitates for a moment as the lions walk off. He sees the distance and rushes to catch up. Meanwhile, I've discovered that Enlil wasn't shown places such as the Elephant Graveyard or the Outlands. It's probably for the best at this rate. We walk around the Pridelands, with me explaining most of my back-story, how Simba took me into his pride and even the hyenas. Getting lost in our conversation, we didn't realize we were walking along the borderlines of the Pridelands and Outlands, and we hear a voice call. We look over to see that it's Nuka, standing on the edge of the Outlands, both sides separated by a river below.

"Mwezi, hey, it's… been a while." Nuka says awkwardly, not sure what to make of Enlil.

"Ah, so this is Nuka! Mwezi's told me you saved her as a cub. That was one bold move." Enlil says.

Nuka responds, still being awkward, "Oh, uh, she did, huh?"

I ask confused, "Nuka, are you okay?"

Nuka heavily sighs hanging his head knowing he can't hide anything anymore and answers, "Y'know, my conscience has been attacking me a lot lately. I don't want to see you get hurt or worse anymore… Mwezi, I need to tell you what Zira has planned before it's too late."

Enlil demands, "What do you mean what this Zira has planned?"

"Wait, you mean that scary lioness from back in my cub days?" I ask.

"…Yes, the scary lioness from a while back. I need to tell you now." Nuka replies.


	7. Perfect Ambush

Chapter 7:

Perfect Ambush

"There's going to be an ambush tomorrow?" I nearly shriek.

"How do we know you telling us this is not part of the ambush?" Enlil demands.

Nuka replies, "Look around me, Stripes, do you see any other lions? I just nearly escaped Mother's wrath getting out here; she has no clue I'm telling you this."

"He's got a point. But where's it gonna happen; do you know?" I ask.

"You know the burned grasslands? Mother thinks Simba is going to take Kovu there. Mwezi, Mother is _very, very_ intelligent. But you can beat her with your brain. I know you're sneaky, so you'll have to closely follow Simba and Kovu, or cut off the pride at the ravine. I only know that much of the ambush." Nuka explains.

Enlil says stomping his front right paw down, "In that case, cutting them off is the best bet! Mwezi, I'm willing to help you!"

Nuka says with a smile getting a little excited, "That's perfect! Mother will never expect a cat like you; it should really confuse her and throw her off!"

"Alright, we'll cut off the pride. We'll have to leave before the others wake up; it'll give us enough time to hunt and enough time to get to the ravine to plan our ambush." I plan out.

"Hahahaha, you're already coming up with a strategy!" Nuka says excited before he returns to being serious, "I'm really counting on you, Mwezi. I'm known to let my excitement get the better of me. If your ambush works, then I should snap out of the heat of the moment."

"You got it, Nuka! Maybe this time, I'll be returning the favor!" I say, recalling the moment he saved my life.

"We need to get back. Nuka, you should too. We'l see you tomorrow." Enlil says.

Nuka says, "Yeah...I'm really counting on you two. Three lives are in your hands."

Enlil and I turn around and trot back to Pride Rock. As we return, we meet up with Kiara and Kovu who appear to be really happy. The four of us climb up to the cavern where Simba waits in the shadow. Kiara and I head in while Kovu heads to the standing stone to sleep. Enlil greets Simba who allows him inside. Simba then walks over to Kovu and invites him inside. I walk over to where Shenzi, Banzai, and Edd are and curl up next to them and start to sleep. Enlil curls up next to me and starts to drift off.

Early the next morning, I'm first up. I exit the cavern and walk to the edge, looking out at the horizen. It's an early morning twilight, where the stars are no longer in the sky, and the sun has yet to rise. I sit down and scratch the back of my left ear before descending Pride Rock. I then hear someone else descend, and as planned it's Enlil. We look at each other with serious expressions, nod once, and sneak off into the savannah. As we begin to trot, we notice that most of the herbivores have not woken up yet, but the birds are up bright and early. They'll have to do for now. Enlil cautiously approaches the flock on the ground trying to find worms. I go around the other side, and soon we both pounce, each catching a bird. After eating such a small meal, we quickly start heading to the ravine on the other side of the burned grassland.

We carefully pick out spots where it's easiest to climb down and with it still being covered in shadows, there's no way the Outlanders would bother to show up here. We cautiously scope out the area, finding good places to hide and ambush the Outland Pride. Pretty soon, we come upon a dam of logs blocking the rest of the canyon. There is no other way out except to climb if one's in a hurry to get away. There is one spot that can be climbed up or down, so chances are if Simba were to be chased here, he'd probably go up the logs, not being able to see the ledges in time. Enlil suddenly starts to growl in the direction we came from. Out of the darkness appears Nuka, surprising both of us.

I ask, "Nuka, what are you doing here?"

Nuka replies, "Making sure you two were exploring this place. Not a bad place to throw Mother off, huh?"

Enlil says, "There's plenty of hiding places here. But, this dam worries me. The logs are loose and anyone can lose they're footing. We'll probably try to hide near here."

"Good idea." Nuka says, but starts to look down.

"You look like something else is wrong." I say getting concerned.

Nuka sighs and says, "It's because I'm not a bad guy; for a long while now, I've strived to get Mother's attention and...Mwezi, I'm doing this so that you don't get hurt. I've watched you grow up from a careful and playful cub into a very intelligent and cautious lioness. Yet, you don't have the physical strength to be putting up with this. If I didn't tell you, you might get hurt, or worse. Not to mention...I think Mother's had her eye on you ever since you two conversed a while back."

"So Mwezi's a target?" Enlil demands.

"Sorta. But you guys, be careful. The pride is strong and relentless. I'll be here later." Nuka answers before he turns to rush back.

"This is it then. It's time to pull out all of your willpower." Enlil says.

"Yeah...I'll be sure to smack Zira around this time." I say getting tense.

As the sun starts to rise, Enlil and I remain on opposite sides of the canyon. Shenzi, Banzai, and Edd leave with the lionesses to do some early morning hunting. Simba has taken Kovu out onto the savannah, telling Kovu the true story about Scar. Kovu is stunned to hear it frrom a different point-of-view, unable to believe how much of a killer Scar was. Suddenly, the two are surrounded by the Outland Pride, Nuka having no choice but to participate. Zira aims at Kovu teling him he's done well to lead Simba away from Pride Rock. Simba quickly thinks that Kovu was part of a plan when Kovu tries to say he had nothing to do with the situation. Zira tells her pride to attack and everyone jumps in attacking Simba. Kovu tries to aid Simba in fending off the Outland pride, but one of the lionesses kicks him back, making his head hit a rock. Simba has no choice but to run being completely outnumbered. The pride gives chase, boxing Simba into the ravine. As he dashes up to the dam, the pride starts to close in, and that's when Enlin and I jump out roaring as fiercly as possible, stopping the pride in their tracks.

Simba looks at us stunned trying to catch his breath after receiving many scratch and bite wounds. Zira, Nuka, and the other female lioness approach the front of the pride.

"So, you're here, Mwezi. We never met as cubs. I'm Kovu's sister, Vitani. And you're about to die here." Vitani threatens.

"Sorry, but dying isn't on my to-do list." I reply.

Zira roars in anger and yells, "How did you know to get us here?"

Nuka then walks up to us, turns around and faces Zira with a stern look and bluntly says, "I told them about your little plan."

Kovu suddenly appears on the ledge and calls, "Simba, up here!"

"Get him, Kovu!" Zira shouts.

"Screw it, he's not gonna attack!" Vitani says lunging right at me.

Nuka gets in the way and swats her back, throwing her off. Kovu climbs down the ledge steps we spotted earlier and gets in front of Simba, putting up an aggressive front. Vitani shakes off the counter and goes right for Nuka this time, pinning him to the ground. I try to get her off, but another lioness cuts me off and while we both get up on our hind legs, she pins me to the canyon wall about to slash my face. Enlil bites down on her tail and rips her away, but other lionesses slip by and go after Simba. Kovu tries to fend them off as Simba heads for the ledge steps. Enlil pulls the lioness away from me and I dash after the other lionesses that got by Kovu, trying to slash at their feet, slowing them down. However, I'm quickly pounced upon by Zira, and we tumble down to the canyon floor. Nuka manages to get Vitani off him by using his hind legs to kick her back. He gets up and pounces on Zira, getting her off me. Enlil manages to knock out the lioness by swinging his tail hard enough at her head, and aids Kovu.

I get up and try to help Nuka when Vitani gets in the way once again, swatting me across the face and knocking me to the ground. The lionesses that were fighting Kovu and Enlil retreat after Enlil uses his tail as a whip, hitting their paws. Kovu and Enlil pounce onto Zira and Vitani helping me and Nuka out. Suddenly, Nuka collapses panting like crazy while I try to stay standing despite feeling physically weak. Enlil and Vitani go at it on their hind legs swatting each other until Vitani falls back, and Enlil body slams her. She slips out from under him and retreats, knowing she can't take another body slam. Zira finally manages to get Kovu off her back and swings her claws at him, scoring a hit across his face. When he turns, he has a scar over his left eye, just like Scar's. Although Zira recoils at first, but doesn't recover in time to be slammed to the ground by Enlil's vicious pounce. He joins Kovu as they watch her weakly get back up. Nuka has caught his breath, and he and I join Enlil and Kovu, glaring at Zira.

"...You bastards...you two have been completely corrupted!" Zira yells.

"Hey at least I accomplished at doing something! Do you know what it's like to be the oldest out of three and not even get one ounce of attention? I've tried getting your atention, but you were so focused on Scar and Kovu that I became the scapegoat! So you know what, 'Mother'? You can go f*ck yourself from now on!" Nuka shouts, roaring in the last few words.

Kovu and Enlil look at him shocked and Kovu asks, "Erm...was I really _that_ spoiled?"

"Give up, Zira. Your pride has retreated, and you're the one outnumbered now. Either retreat, or die here." Enlil says.

Zira growls and says, "I won't forgive any of this!" as she turns to retreat, but looks back at me and says, "Oh, and by the way, Mwezi, about your origin...YOU'RE AN OUTLANDER!"

Zira retreats as I call out confused. Nuka stops me from making any advances. Me, and Outlander? There's no way. Having gained a victory, we follow Kovu up the ledge steps and try to follow Simba's pawprints. He was heading back to Pride Rock and we needed to catch up. We begin to go into a full dash back to the savannah, hoping Simba isn't too badly injured. As we approach Pride Rock, a lot of the Prideland animals are gathered. All are staring more at Kovu as he's the one with the scar. Enlil, Nuka, and I bring up the rear as we try to ascend Pride Rock, listening to the animals' talking to each other. We get up on an aisle where Kiara is happy to see us, but Simba cuts her off. I become filled with fear and lie down in submission, covering my head. The Hyenas appear next to Kiara with concerned looks. Simba approaches us and snarls Kovu and Nuka, but lets Enlil and I back up. I headbutt Simba as a thanks and head over to Kiara where I headbutt her, and the Hyenas pile on top of me at once trying to hug me.

Enlil helps Simba back up onto the ledge and pulls him aside, trying to explain to him what went on after he was able to get away. He can't seem to change Simba's mind about Kovu, until he tells Simba what happened when I was a cub when I got attacked by Big Meteor. Simba looks surprised that Nuka had rescued me then, and repeated that same behavior now. Simba tells Enlil to stand next to his daughters while he goes back up to the ledge to pass judgment. Enlil does as asked and stands next to Kiara and I. Nuka was definetly showing signs of fear, quickly lying on the ground like I did in submission, shivering and covering his head. Kovu looks up hoping Simba will not pass a negative judgment. Timon and Pumbaa go through a comical moment where Timon tries to have Pumbaa hold him back, but it fails.

Simba demands, "Why have you come back?"

Kovu replies, "Somba...I had nothing to do with-" before Simba cuts him off, "You don't belong here."

Nuka tries to say being nervous, "H-hey, I know I probably don't belong here, but he does! I mean, c'mon, I saved Mwezi from Big Meteor!"

Kovu says trying to keep calm, "Please... I ask your forgiveness."

Kiara cries out, "Daddy, please... listen to him!"

"Simba, don't take your anger out on Nuka too; he warned Enlil and I about the ambush and we acted upon it! You saw him; he helped!" I call out.

"SILENCE! Kovu, when you first came here, you asked for judgment..." Simba says.

The animals call, " Give him what he deserves!" "Kick him out!" "That's right!" "Judgment day is here!"

Simba continues, "...And I pass it now."

"Damn it, no!" I shout.

Simba announces, "The both of you are _exiled_!"

"No!" Kiara yells.

"Dammit!" I growl.

The Prideland animals start to get angry and begin to sing in chorus as they hound Nuka and Kovu away from Pride Rock. Kiara tries to give chase a few times, being cut off from the lionesses. Enlil watches in awe, having never seen something like this before. I watch on with Kiara in horror as Kovu runs towards the desert. Nuka stops at one point and looks back, knowing he can't change anything. He lowers his head before following Kovu. Pretty soon, the song is over, and I lie down once again in submission. The Hyenas follow suit, Edd wimpering like crazy.


	8. Bitter Reunion

Chapter 8:

Bitter Reunion

Edd, Shenzi, Banzai, and I watch on in awe. Enlil becomes discouraged at the sight not sure how to approach Simba. The Prideland animals slowly disperse, a hippo having issues trying to descend to the ground. The lionesses move out of the way of Kiara who walks up to her father wanting him to reconsider. Simba has other plans as he looks hard at her.

He speaks, "You and Mwezi will not go anywhere without an escort from now on."

Kiara tries to argue, "No, that's not-!" before Simba cuts her off, "Kovu used you to get to me!"

"No! He loves me...for me!" Kiara fights back pleading by this point.

"Because you are my daughter!" Simba growls, "You and Mwezi will not leave Pride Rock. You will stay where I can keep an eye on you two... away from them!"

I speak up barely pushing myself up, "I don't quite see where I come into this punishment..."

"Shh!" Shenzi warns, "Mwezi, keep quiet! You guys are already getting permanently grounded."

Banzai says, "Yeah. You might end up with an even worse end."

Kiara argues, "You don't know Kovu!"

Simba responds, "I know he's following in Scar's pawprints... and I must follow in my father's."

"You will never be Mufasa!" Kiara talks back.

That one statement strikes Simba as he looks at her silenced. Kiara rushes into the cavern sobbing. I cautiously get up and trot on in being followed by the Hyenas. The lionesses look on now concerned feeling bad for Kiara while I'm not sure how to really respond. Enlil looks over to Simba as if telling him he may have gone too far. Simba walks over to Enlil still stunned as the tiger cues him to follow. The two descend Pride Rock with Enlil taking the lead. I try to talk to Kiara, but she pays no mind, spotting some light shining through a hole. Edd whines as if saying not to do it, but she ends up pushing her way through the wall and running away. Concerned I look to Shenzi for an answer; she moves her head cueing me to go after my sister. Going against my better judgment, I climb through the hole quickly giving chase.

I follow Kiara through the Pridelands as she revisits all the familiar places; the spot where they looked up at the stars, even into a canyon where she eventually stopped and sat down, lowering her head in sadness. I sit next to her and rub up against her trying to bring comfort, but it doesn't seem to work. She does respond by petting me on the head.

Elsewhere in the Pridelands, Enlil is conversing with Simba on the matter, asking the lion why he exiled Kovu and Nuka and not him when he is an outsider in technical terms. Simba stops to sit on a soft patch of dirt while Enlil turns to face him. The tiger tilts his head in confusion trying to shoot the lion a questioning look. Simba looks back at him almost questioning his judgment and if the statement Kiara said earlier was true.

"Enlil, I did not exile you because you were brought here against your will. The Outlands are easily connected to the Pridelands by fallen trees, giving the Outsiders all the access they want should they be bold enough to cross over. Where you came from, you have no direct acess to this place." Simba replies.

"But still you place trust in me. King Simba, I could've easily fabricated the whole story of how I got to be in the crate. How can you tell I was not lying?"

"Your scent told me everything. Sometimes Timon and Pumbaa head out into the world beyond this, and there always seems to be new scents coming from them. Ragh, I'm more bothered about what Kiara said."

"...King Simba, you are not listening to your heart; you are unable to find the ability to reason because of it. Instead you are listening to the laws set in place, and in turn made an irrational decision without listening to their testimony. I simply ask to search your heart for the right answer."

"How can I? They planned the ambush."

"No, they did not. Nuka came to Mwezi and I and told us of Zira's plan. I can tell Kovu has fallen for Kiara enough to not want to follow through with Zira. He warned us, and we acted. You saw back there how Nuka and Kovu protected you alongside Mwezi and I. You've passed the wrong judgment."

"...What would my father do?"

"The same thing I'm doing; reasoning with you."

Night soon engulfs the Pridelands. I continue to follow Kiara through the lands, seeing other animals in love with each other. We eventually find ourselves at a tree where Kiara sees her reflection in the water... except there's only half of her there. Looking into the water I see my reflection and as of now it's a full reflection. She looks up into the starry sky seeing images of a rabbit and two lions fighting each other. Kiara then slumps down depressed, me following suit but without the depression. I suggest we should keep looking and without question she agrees.

Back at Pride Rock, Edd sits out at the edge watching and waiting for me to appear. Shenzi an Banzai call for him to come in only to receive a response of an ear turning to the sounds of their voices for a second. Both look at each other becoming woried about Edd as well as Kiara and I. They walk back into the cavern knowing it would be futile to get Edd to follow. Edd then gets an idea, rushing down from Pride Rock running away from it. He puts his nose to the ground finding our scent and starts to follow it. However, he loses the trail half way to our location becoming frantic within seconds. He looks around trying to be as alert to sounds as he possibly can.

As he races through the Pridelands thinking there's no way I'd leave even if I follow Kiara, he soon comes upon a river that borders the Outlands and the Pridelands. That's when he hears a loud growl coming from the other side. He becomes full of fear at the sight of seeing Zira and her pride crossing through the river. They look up seeing him as he watches in fear. Zira smiles evily at this showing her teeth while Vitani goes on the attack running at the hyena. Edd gets the message and goes to run away and return to Pride Rock, but Vitani effortlessly cuts him off. The other lionesses block him in, and he begins to lie flat on the ground whimpering. Zira makes her way around to face him.

She starts, "My, my, look who we have here. I know you're a friend to Mwezi. I've watched you hyenas closely; you practically raised her, didn't you?"

Edd can't speak, he can only think in response, "{You've been spying on us this whole time? Talk about pedophilia!}"

Vitani suggests, "You know, if we took him out, it would strike Mwezi right where it hurts. You said you already revieled to her she's an Outlander, right? Let's push her one more time and see what she does!"

"Hmm, I think you're onto something, Vitani. Telling her she's an Outlander won't be enough to hit her where it hurts. And now, this one already knows too much." Zira replies looking at Edd with plotting eyes.

"{Wait...are they? Oh no!}" Edd thinks before he forces himself to yell, "B-Baaanzaaaiii! Shhheeeeenzzziiiiii!"

"Shut him up, Vitani!" Zira commands.

Meanwhile in the desert filled mostly with ash, Kiara and I find ourselves unable to continue. She plants herself on a mound while I keep out a watchful eye. I see something move behind us quickly spotting Kovu and an excited Nuka. Kovu tells us both to keep quiet. I nod as Nuka stays in place while Kovu approaches us. Kiara then hears his footsteps, turns around, and sees him. At first she is estatic to see him before she starts to look at him with a more loving gaze as if saying "I finally found you". Unable to keep his playful side in check, Nuka bolts over effortlessly tackling me off the knoll as Kiara and Kovu run to each other before coming to nuzzle one another. The two sudenly go into quick play before they sit together, Kovu moving some of the ash aside to reveal a sprout. They nuzzle lovingly as Nuka gets rough with his play, biting and yanking my ear, me kicking him back trying to get him to let go.

A gentle breeze blows by carrying two butterflies that Kovu starts to chase. Kiara runs after him, the two of them laughing as they go into a very brief wrestle. They wind up lying in front of a water source seeing their half reflections becoming one. I'm able to slip away from Nuka stopping in front of the water source. I look down seing my reflection once again, only this time I see a quick image of Edd. In response I jerk my head back astonished before Nuka knocks me into the water him jumping in after me. He soon stops watching as I get up still looking at the water seeing my whole reflection. I look up at the starry sky seeing some clouds beginning to form, and one of them takes the shape of Edd rather quickly before looking like a cloud again. Kovu tries to convice Kiara that they run away and start a pride.

"Is something wrong, Mwezi?" Nuka asks walking over to me.

"Something isn't right...I'm seeing Edd." I reply looking at him.

I hear Kiara tell Kovu, "Kovu, we have to go back."

Kovu looks at her surprise and unwilling responding, "You're kidding. But we're finally together!"

"Our place is with our pride." Kiara explains, "If we run away, they'll be divided forever."

"She's right." I call, "We need to go back. I think something may have happened to Edd!"

They look at me Kiara asking, "What do you mean?"

Nuka replies, "She said she saw a quick image of Edd while looking at her reflection, and then saw a cloud briefly take on his shape."

"Her reflection? Then a cloud? What could it all mean?" Kovu asks looking at Kiara.

I dash passed them shouting, "Let's get back now!"

"Mwezi!" the three of them call before they follow in pursuit.

Back in the Pridelands a short while later, the rain has gotten heavy. Timon and Pumbaa enter the cavern in complete worry again. Shenzi looks out into the rain worried about Edd. Pretty soon, Timon and Pumbaa argue with each other over who was supposed to watch Kiara and I before getting into an all-out match as Simba enters from the rain with Enlil. Both shake off the rain before Simba speaks causing Pumbaa to respond quickly, leaping to attention easily flinging Timon off him. Enlil walks passed them curling up in a spot lying down and closing his eyes when Simba asks what they're doing.

Timon responds as he climbs up onto Pumbaa's snout, "Good question! Now let me ask you one."

Pumbaa starts, "Hippo-thetically..."

Timon starts correcting him, "Very _hypo_-thetical, there's this guy..."

"But he's not a lion..." Pumbaa cuts in.

"No! No, he's not a lion...yeesh!" Timon goes on as Simba looks on amused, "Definetly not a lion. And, uh...uh... his daughters, um, say...vanished."

Simba demands, "Mwezi and Kiara are _gone_?"

Zazu soon flies in quite frantic, "Sire! The Outsiders are on the attack... heading this way! It's _waaarrr_!"

Enlil's head pops up in response, "Are you serious? King Simba!" he says standing up, "What shall I do to help?"

Simba replies, "Zazu! Shenzi! Banzai! You three go find the girls! Enlil, Timon, Pumbaa, we'll assemble the lionesses! Move! Now!"

"We're on it!" Shenzi says immeditaly jumping out into the rain.

"Whoa Shenzi! Wait up!" Banzai calls.


	9. Gone Too Far

Chapter 9:

Gone Too Far

Shenzi, Banzai, and Zazu race through the rain in search of Kiara and I. Banzai brings up the rear of the trio having trouble keeping up with Shenzi's speed, determination pulsing through the ground with each step made. Zazu tries to stay ahead so he can warn them of any obstacles or foes, but he cannot see with it being as dark as it is and winds up crashing head on through a hole in a dead tree, his beak sticking out the other end. This causes the two hyenas to stop dead turning back only to find part of an orange beak sticking out of a tree. As Zazu struggles to free himself, an Emu appears from the mist the rain has created carrying what appears to be black fur in its beak. Shenzi notices as the bird approaches them.

It places the bit of fur down on the ground then says, "I thought you two might want to know where your buddy is. I've seen you play with the furry lion; this should be brought to her."

"What is it?" Banzai asks as he goes to sniff it. He jerks his head back in shock exclaiming, "This is Edd's mane!"

"The hell is going on? Where's Edd?" Shenzi demands.

The Emu replies, "He's by a river just down that way. I can show you if you like."

"Take us there!" Shenzi says before calling to Zazu, "Hey Zazu! You keep looking for the girls! We'll rendevous near the gorge!"

Zazu replies barely able to move his beak, "Wait! Where are you going?"

Banzai replies as he and Shenzi rush off with the Emu, "To find Edd!"

Meanwhile, Simba and his lionessess along with Timon, Pumbaa, and Enlil, gather at a field the borders an embankment quickly becoming flooded with water, only to have logs damming it up. Zira and her pride stand across the field ready for battle. Timon and Pumbaa decided to moon the Outlanders making Enlil facepalm. Buzzards begin to circle overhead knowing they'll be able to reap any rewards from the upcoming battle should either side face losses. Both sides stare on at each other with Zira taking her position up on a large rock.

Zira starts, "It's over now, Simba! I've dreamed of nothing else for years!"

"Boy... does she need a hobby." Timon says.

Simba speaks, "Last chance Zira: Go home."

Zira states, "I _am_ home!"

The sound of thunder crashing with a flash of lightning help to emphasize the intensity of the moment. Zira tells her pride to attack, and both sides start to advance towards each other. At first they walk, then it becomes a sprint, and finally a full speed run at each other. Both prides clash biting and slashing violently, blood and fur flying through the air with each vicious swat. Zira coaches her pride from the safety on top the huge rock with two of her back-up lionesses. Enlil does his best to avoid getting injured by whipping the enemies with his tail and swatting with great force at their mouths. The Outland lionesses don't want to risk having their jaws broken and quickly turn tail as the tiger advances towards Zira, having the right idea to go for the leader. He is quickly caught off guard when four Outlanders pile on his back, one managing to stop his tail with her teeth. He rears back attempting to knock them off, but they jump back on, the one lioness keeping hold of his tail, ruining his only strategy.

The Pridelanders are outmatched in vicious nature as the Outlanders manage to get the jump on winning the battle by being tricky and agile. Timon and Pumbaa briefly converse brefore leaping into battle trying to appear as menacing as they can. However, they soon turn tail and run when one Outland lioness snarls at them, a few lionesses giving chase.

Just a distance away, Kiara, Kovu, Nuka, and I are able to see the battle under way. I look on in disbelief over the brutality of it all. Before we go to rush over to stop the fighting, we hear Shenzi and Banzai call out. We turn to face them as they come to an immediate stop, Banzai face planting into the ground; he never was the best at applying the breaks. As soon as he pulls his face out of the mud, both gain serious and worried expressions.

Shenzi says, "Mwezi, there's no way to sugar-coat this... But... Edd has been... Ngh, he's been killed by the Outlanders!"

All four of us ask simultaneously, "What?"

"It's true," Banzai goes on, "an Emu brought us to him. He said he saw everything, that at first Vitani was going to attack, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. So, Zira took control and made her do it."

"Mwezi, Vitani isn't your enemy. It's Zira! Anyway, you're going to rush into battle, right? We're coming with you!" Shenzi says.

I couldn't believe it... Edd's gone? Permanently? Unable to cope and adrenaline beginning to course through my veins, I start to dig my claws into the ground bearing my teeth to the point it hurts. Intense anger grows in my eyes, up to the point I close them tightly and let out a roar that rivals the sound of thunder. I then jump down running at full speed towards the battlefield, effortlessly flying across the embankment. The others call out to me giving chase unable to keep up. Banzai and Shenzi are the first ones across the logs, followed by Nuka who almost slips, Kiara who glides across, and finally Kovu who nearly falls of when the logs start to shift.

Out in the battlefield, Timon and Pumbaa are chased up to a rocky wall becoming boxed in by the enemy. Scared, Pumbaa faces the wall trying to hide while Timon panicks looking around. He looks over at Pumbaa who's behind is pointed towards the enemy instantly seeing a way out.

He jumps onto Pumbaa's back, grabs his tail, cocks it and holds it like a gun warning, "Don't anybody move! This thing's loaded. I'll let ya have it!"

The lionesses shriek and turn tail, fleeing into the horizon. Timon feels victorious having scared them away so easily. In the field, Simba assists Enlil in swatting the lionesses away. The two suddenly become overwhelmed being jumped on by more Outlanders. Enlil manages to break free just as Simba does by swatting at the enemies as Zira advances towards Simba with her two back-up lionesses saying Simba is hers. When she gets close, Simba goes to attack but Zira swats him across the face with enough force to knock him on his back. Both sides quickly pause and look over at the two Pride Leaders. As Simba recovers Zira starts to pace back and forth, the two soon walking in a circle across from each other keeping cold glares on each other, as the lionesses form a circle around the two.

Both Zira and Simba are about to slash each other when Kiara and Kovu jump between them, staring at their respective parent. Enlil makes his way to Simba's side relieved to see Kiara is okay, until Nuka jumps over everyone standing on Kiara's other side glaring at Zira. I let out the same roar I let fly only moments earlier, causing the lionesses to panic and move aside. Shenzi and Banzai are on my sides bearing their teeth and growling at Zira; intense rage can be seen in my eyes. Vitani takes instant notice having a strong feeling that we've found out about Edd. Zira looks over, cocking her head up with a smirk seeing how enraged I've become.

Vitani quickly says sensing my anger, "Uh Mwezi, before you slash anyone's eyes out, I was forced to do it! I really didn't-" Shenzi cuts her off, "Silence you! Mwezi isn't here to fight you."

Zira laughs before saying, "Ah, then the Outsider is here for me. Yes Mwezi, you ARE and Outsider...and yes... I killed Edd."

"You what? Why did you kill him?" Simba demands.

"I noticed back in the canyon she wasn't very serious about fighting. Her heart is in the right place, but where's the emotion?" Zira replies as Simba growls at this. She goes on, "I simply wanted to see how far I can push her to get her to act like who she really is."

Banzai explodes, "You did that for your own sick enjoyment? Edd did nothing to you to deserve such an end! How would you like it if it were the other way around, huh?"

Zira responds, "It already did the second Kovu turned on us. I knew Nuka was weak, but when I saw he was on their side I got to see how weak he really is."

"For your information, I'm a lot stronger than you think. You just never paid any attention to notice." Nuka says before he blind sides her biting down on her muzzel, making it gush blood.

As soon as he lets go, I lunge at Zira quickly overwhelming her knocking her to the ground on her back. Everyone around is shocked as I start to press down hard on her throat attempting to choke her to death. Enlil rushes over to try and get me off but I whip him in the face with my tail. Shenzi and Banzai lose al sense of reason and join me with Banzai biting down on her tail and yanking it while Shenzi bites down on her side almost trying to rip off the bit of flesh. Everyone starts to call out to us until I decide to viciously bite at Zira's jugular attempting to rip her throat wide open.

Simba rushes over quickly biting my scruff grabbing a tight hold and pulling. Kovu and Enlil find Banzai and Shenzi's scruffs easily puling them off; I wasn't about to move. Kiara rushes over smacking me upside the head finally getting me to let go. Simba drags me aside so I'm no longer close enough to lunge in one shot. Nala comes over taking a hold of me so Simba can return to his spot, all the while Zira is laughing maniacally.

Kiara, Kovu, and Nuka return to looking at their respective parent as Zira recovers and stands up, loving the attempt I tried to mak at killing her. I try to struggle flailing wildly until I run out of energy. Knowing I can't move anymore, Nala lets go quickly stepping over me so I don't get back up. Enlil has taken the hyenas aside seeing as how they won't attack unless they become provoked again. Both Simba and Zira tell their kids to stand down, but neither budge.

Kiara starts, "Daddy, can't you see now? This has to stop!"

Zira says to her sons, "You two are weaker than I imagined. Get out of the way!"

Nuka turns around mooning her, "Sorry old hag; not gonna happen!" he turns back around getting serious, "I'm gonna make sue you don't hurt Mwezi anymore. You've claimed your last victim."

Kovu replies, "You'll never hurt Kiara... or Simba. Not while I'm here."

"Gragh! Just let me slit her f*cking throat! She'll pay for what she did to Edd!" I shout out becoming upset.

"You girls need to stay out of this!" Simba commands.

Kiara says, "A wise King once told me 'We Are One'. I didn't understand what he meant... now I do."

"But... they..." Simba tries to say before Kiara says, "Them... us. Look at them... they are us. What differences do you see?"

"I hope you mean aside from the fact Zira killed Edd." I pester.

Kiara looks at me replying, "I'm not defending her, sis. Calm down."

With Kiara's statement at the Outsiders "being us", both sides start to really see. The rain begins to stop while Simba and Kiara look at each other, the battle having finally come to a stop. The clouds start to clear up and Simba and Kiara nuzzle. Zira, however, isn't listening at all. She tries to get Vitani to attack, but she refuses saying Kiara's right, and walks over to Simba's side turning to face Zira saying it's enough. The other lionesses look shocked as Vitani starts to make her way towards me. I lay there growling while Nala moves aside, sensing no danger.

Vitani lowers down to look at me face-to-face and says sincerly, "Mwezi, I didn't mean to take Edd's life. I didn't wnt to in the first place; I simply wanted to scare him off. I'm not your enemy... not anymore. Can you at least forgive me?"

I growl, "Only becaus Kiara's right, I will. But I will never forgive your action."

Banzai asks Shenzi, "It's gonna be a while before she's her old self again, isn't it?"

Shenzi replies, "I think so. I've never seen her get this upset. Well, except for the time we took all those feathers she collected away. She didn't talk to anyone for a good five days."

Zira soon says gaining attention back, "Fine, if you won't fight, then you will die as well."

The other lionesses look at her disgusted, quickly moving over to Smba's side. Zira's eyes start to panic as they leave her side. Enlil smiles at this knowing everything is all over now.

"Wha...? Where are you going? Get the hell back here!" Zira calls.

Simba says, "Let it go, Zira. It's time to put the past behind us."

Zira yells as more logs in the embankment pile up, "I'll never let it go!"


	10. The Rogue Lion

Chapter 10:

The Rogue Lion

"This is for you, Scar!" Zira says before leaping at Simba.

I wanted to lunge at her but Kiara cuts me off, the two suddely tumbling down the side of the embankment. Simba, Kovu, Nala, and I all cry out Kiara's name as I'm first down the embankment with Simba desperatly trying to rush close behind. Nuka was about to join in, but he panics the last second not wanting to gamble for his life. Kiara eventually grabs onto the ledge slowing her descent while Zira clings to some rocks some distance below Kiara. I make it down to Kiara and viciously grab onto Zira's paws, similar to how Scar did with Mufasa. Kiara isn't sure what to do as the danger quickly increases, the log dam finally bursting with the river's flow now above normal. She knows she won't be able to get me to spare Zira at this rate, so she instead stands next to me.

Zira begins to laugh, "Hahahaha! Just what are you planning to do, Mwezi? If you kill me, Simba will gladly kick you out of his precious pride. Go ahead, toss me aside!"

I glare at her, "I'm not here to kill you. The others already ruined that chance. No, I'm going to let Nature TAKE YOU BACK!"

"Wha...?" Zira asks puzzled.

Off to the side as the river's flow continued to grow, an elephant skull can be seen being tossed around in the violent current. Normally these things can't be moved, but this one never made it to the Elephant Graveyard. Kiara sees the skull and looks at Zira in a panic. Zira looks over seeing the skull quickly coming over.

She says, "Oho, you ARE an evil little thing."

The large tusk in the skull eventually pierces right through Zira, me letting go of her at the last second. The skull topples over pulling her underneath the water. Kiara looks at me in shock as I look a her with a guilty face. Simba finally reaches us completely speechless. The three of us climb back up to the top, me collapsing to the ground out of energy. As Kiara cuddles up to Kovu, Simba says to him that he was wrong and that he belongs here.

Some time after the battle with both prides now one, Rafiki blesses the union of Kiara and Kovu with a gesture of his staff. Timon and Pumbaa cry hysterically while Nala and Simba and Kovu and Kiara make their way to the ledge of Pride Rock. First Simba roars, then Kovu follows. Soon all four roar out and the lionesses roar in answer. It was the perfect ending. But things don't end here.

That afternoon after a successful hunt with the new lionesses, a flamingo flies in filled with some kind of excitement before crashing hard into the ground. Banzai sneak up to it carefully poking its beak when it reacts without warning scaring Banzai and causing him to fall over onto his back. The flamingo manages to stand up with several feathers falling off its body. It looks over at me and comes rushing over before tripping over a bone and rolls right into me. Annoyed, I kick him off with a roar.

Shenzi jokes, "This is rare. Dinner AND a show."

The flamingo stands quickly saying, "I'm terribly sorry. I get clumsy when I get excited."

"Yeah, no shit. What's going on?" I ask piking out a feather from my right front paw.

"Oh yes, that's right! Mwezi, I just saw two lions that looked like you! I saw them heading for the Outlands!" the flamingo responds.

Nuka asks, "Are you serious? Why the Outlands? There's nothing there but annoying-ass termites."

I ask, "Are you sure they looked like me? Were they just as thick-coated?"

"Yes, they were! I don't know how long they'll be there, so you better hurry and catch them!" the flamingo answers.

I say full of energy, "It's settled; I'm going now!"

Simba promptly places his paw over my tail causing me to suddenly stop and fall to the ground as he says, "Hold on, Mwezi. The Outlands aren't far from here. Why don't you wait for one of us to finish first?"

"Oh come on, it's not like there's danger there." I say sitting up.

"That may be so, but don't forget, you're not well toned like the rest of us. If something were to happen, like encountering that weird lion again, you'd be screwed." Kovu says.

I look at him and say, "But I'm stil agile and clever; I'll ninja my way out!"

Timon comes up to me holding a grub saying, "Trust me kid, 'ninja-ing' you're way out doesn't always work. When you're dealing with an animal bigger than you, they can easily catch you off guard."

"Timon's right, Mwezi." Pumbaa adds in, "The both of us have struggled for a while until we found the Oasis. Dealing with animals bigger than you are can get very dangerous."

I let out a grunt before plopping to the ground with a pout. Simba removes his paw. The flamingo shrugs to this and flies off. Kiara adds fuel to he fire by pettng me on the head. Of course by that time Vitani had become full and wanted to take one last look at her past before letting it go to start a new life in the Pride Lands. She and I head out rushing to the Outlands. I could feel Simba shaking his head.

Once we arrived at the Outlands I began my frantic search while Vitani stood at the log bridge, taking a long hard look at her old home. At first she feels upset about leaving it, but at the same time she's happy that she won't have to survive on and compete for very little food and hardly any water. I call out to her some distance away which snaps he out of her deep thoughts. She comes trotting over finding me looking into a termite pit. She shakes her head trying not to laugh when she catches an odd scent. I pull my head out hearing her move away and follow closely catching the scent. It led us into her "den" to Kovu's little "throne". The scent ended here.

We both look around the old place finding no other sign of two lions being here. At one point Vitani finds a patch of fur caught on a dead root, but it turned out to be one of the lionesses'. That's when I think about the river; there are still crocodiles there that see everything. I rush out of the den heading for the river with Vitani chasing after me. I stop at the ledge looking down seeing a few crocodiles. As I examine the area I see a small sand bar stretching out from the ledge. There's also a way down to it, so I quickly but carefully head down. Vitani isn't sure what to do at this point unable to keep up with my bursts of energy. When I make it onto the sand bar a crocodile crawls out from the water and looks up at me.

"Well, well, if it isn't that little panicky cub...only you've managed to grow up." he says.

"Enough with the crap. Have you seen two lions that look like me come by here?" I ask.

He thinks for a moment then answers, "As a matter of fact, I have. The male had such a think mane, I'm surprised he could see at all. The mane actually stretches onto his breast as well as half way down his back. The female there had an oddly thick coat just like yours."

I say getting excited, "They must be my parents then! My actual birth parents!"

"Oh, another thing I should mention, there was a male lion different from those two looking for you. He said it was urgent that he find you." he adds on.

Vitani calls, "Mwezi, that could be the strange lion you encountered before! If I were you, I'd keep one of the guys at your side!"

"I wouldn't know that stuff; our eyesight is very limited. Let me see, what did he...? Oh yeah, if I recall corectly, his fur is pale gold and his mane was dark brown. He said that if any of us were to see you, to tell you to meet him in the burned field. He said he'd be there every day when the sun meets the ground." the crocodile says before retreating back to the water.

"...So it _was_ the odd lion!" I say.

"Mwezi! I don't like the sound of that. Let's head back." Vitani calls.

With not much else to do, we have no choice but to head back to Pride Rock. I rejoin Vitani at the top and we cross the log bridge over to the Pride Lands. She takes one last look at her old home before letting out a quick roar. As we head back, the sun had disappeared bringing on the twilit sky. I look up at the stars wanting to ask the Great Kings if they know where my parents went to, but I know I won't get any answers. Vitani nudges me as if saying everything will be okay. I nod in response.

By the time we make it to Pride Rock, everyone is in the den sound asleep. We head in when suddenly a loud roar echoes throughout the lands. This wakes everyone up while I head to the edge looking out on full alert. Zazu flies out and hovers over me unable to tell what is going on. When Kovu comes charging out he sees a figure in the horizen. Nuka comes out with a big yawn asking why somebody's roaring now. They tell me to stay put while they check things out. Kiara quickly comes to my side.

The brothers dart away from Pride Rock in the direction the roar came from. Another one fills the night air, and this time it's close. They stop in place letting out a roar warning the lion he's in Simba's territory. But soon the lion comes into view. Even from this distance I could see it was that rogue lion from before. Thinking on nothing but impulse, I jump down the side of Pride Rock being followed by Kiara. Nala and Simba rush out from the den looking out over the edge. Timon, Pumbaa, Shenzi, and Banzai join them.

Kovu and Nuka weren't very far which meant Kiara and I caught up to them without much difficulty. As soon as we reached them I let out a threatening roar, but the rogue didn't even flinch.

"Okay you, what are you doin' here?" Nuka demands, snarling on a couple words.

The rogue responds, "Forgive me, I'm in great hurry to find my-" he cuts himself off when he takes another look at me, "Haha, sister! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Sister? Wait, you're her brother?" Kovu asks.

"Yes." he replies just as Kiara asks, "Then why'd you hit on her a while back?"

"Oh...that. I didn't know she was my sister at the time. My apologies. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Huru; it means 'free'." Huru answers.

I ask noticing his fur is not as thick as mine, "If you're my brother, then how come you have a thinner coat compared to me?"

Huru tries to explain, "Well, to be honest I'm not really sure, but our mother has told me that our grandfather had a thin coat. Why our parents' coats are thick as well as yours is more of a genetic thing."


	11. The Mystery Thickens

*This name means "Swift" in Swahili.

Chapter 11:

The Mystery Thickens

"Genetic? Well, I guess that would make sense. In that case, why am I not as muscle toned like the others?" I ask getting in his face.

Huru pushes me back answering, "Because when it comes to brains YOU got the lion's share, but not when it comes to brute strength."

"Peh," Kovu starts being very skeptical and making a joke, "it almost sounds like Scar's your dad."

"Hey hey, hold on Kovu!" Nuka says quickly getting in his face, "I'm not exactly the muscle of the family myself y'know! You've got that!"

Kiara says breaking the tension, "Okay you two, that's enough. We're not out here for a fight anymore."

I say, "We still have the issue of asking Simba if Huru can stay."

"Oh I don't want to intrude. He seems to have enough of a pride right now. I'd just take up more room. I'll sleep outside; I'll be fine." Huru says.

"Speaking of which," Nuka says, "we should head back. We'll meet by the waterhole tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me. You guys go get some sleep." Huru says turning and leaving.

With not much else to say or do, we return to Pride Rock. Once there, we tell Simba and Nala what happened and they become just as surprised. Timon, however, was thinking about the whole thing a lot more critically. I tell him not to strain himself and head into the den. The others follow, but Timon remmains at the ledge, looking out over the Pridelands. He kept thinking how there could be three very thick coated lions out here when all lions usually have much thinner coats in order to deal with the heat. He begins to think that my parents may be from another part of the world, perhaps a colder region. Simba eventually calls out to him asking if he's coming to bed. Timon takes one last look before retreating to the den.

The next day around midday, Nuka, Enlil, Kovu, Kiara, and I head out for the waterhole. From a distance we could see a few animals and Huru. Before we could trot over, Shenzi calls out to us. When we looked at her we found Banzai was not with her, but instead Timon was. This was a little odd as those two usually end up in two arguements a day.

"Hold on Mwezi, don't go near Huru yet." Timon warns with a very serious face.

"What's going on? Is something up at Pride Rock?" Kiara asks.

Shenzi replies, "Everything's fine there. It's more what Timon has to say to you; that's why I'm the one carrying him and not Pumbaa."

Timon looks at me and says, "Mwezi, what Huru said last night, what you told us, it got me thinking. You know how Enlil arrived here in a crate?"

Enlil says lowering his head, "Ugh, don't remind me."

Timon goes on, "Well, you and your parents are apparently the only thick-coated lions in the Pridelands. I have a very strong feeling your parents arrived here the same way Enlil did. Those two might come from a completely different part of the world."

"Whoa...where do you think they came from, dude?" Nuka asks with growing curiosity.

"I'm not completely sure, but I know Zira's lying about saying Mwezi's an 'Outsider'. That was just to get the blood boiling." Timon replies.

"Mwezi, your brother doesn't have a thick coat like you do. I don't know if searching the Pridelands with him is a smart idea." Senzi shares, expressing her fear.

I respond, "I have no choice though, Shenzi. If I don't start looking around with th only lion who could possibly know their wherabouts, I'd be living the rest of my life wondering where I came from. Not to mention, I want to ask them why they never returned for me."

Enlil says, "I'm siding with Mwezi. I remember the story of how she was brought up by Meerkats in the Oasis and then taken in by Simba. If she doesn't discover the truth, her spirit will never rest."

Kovu assures, "It's okay, Shenzi. If that guy tries anything, you can bet my claws wil be the first tearing at his face."

"Mhmm...just be careful you guys. I'll let the others know." Shenzi says.

We all nod and carry on to the waterhole to meet Huru. Shenzi and Timon can only watch as the distance grows bigger. Timon really starts to think. If my parents had gotten here the same way Enlil did, then pieces of their crate must be lying around somewhere.

"Shenzi." he starts, "Let's head back and start a little investigation team. Something just doesn't feel right."

"I hear ya. Something's off, and I don't like it." she agrees, turning and going into a full sprint.

We meet up with Huru who is looking into the water with an upset look on his face. We all sit down asking him why he looks upset. He looks right at me as if the others weren't around.

"Mwezi..." he tries to say but chokes a little, "I didn't want to start the day this way, but I need to tell you this, and it's the only bit of information I know. Apparently, we are only half-siblings."

"What?" I ask shocked.

"Half-siblings? Hold on, what the hell are you getting at?" Kiara growls.

"Like I said, it's the only bit of information I know. My father is not her father. Her father apparently died a few hours after Mwezi was born." Huru answers.

I demand, "So then, we're only related through our mother. Where the hel is she?"

Huru responds, "I don't know. I keep seeing them in different areas of the Pridelands, but each time I get close, my dad roars angrily. I only get to talk with them for a short while at a distance."

Enlil says, "I don't like where any of this is going. Do you know if your mother came here in a crate similar to how I got here?"

Elsewhere in the Pridelands, Simba has all of his pride out looking for clues. Timon and Shenzi had expressed their feelings and Simba took quick action. Simba scans the Pridelands with the Hyenas and a few lionesses. Vitani only leads Sarafina and two other lionesses through the gorge. Timon and Pumbaa are guarded by several lionesses as they search through the Elephant Graveyards. Zazu spreads word of this to Rafiki and is now en route to the Oasis to ask the Meerkats for help. Rafiki sits in his tree puzzled. He's been in the Pridelands for years and only recalls seeing Enlil's crate crash into the river. He looks at the drawings on his tree, smiling at the most recent ones, searching through to see if he made note of a mysterious crate. He soon comes to find he never made note of any crate. Rafiki sits at a loss once again.

He soon recalls a memory of me asking him why I looked the way I did when I was still a cub. He remembers something shining in the tree that night and quickly heads to the ground. Looking closely at the tree trunk, Rafiki finds something shining and pulls it out. It was a piece of a lock. Rafiki comes to the realization something mjust have crashed here one day when he wasn't around. He starts looking around at the ground heading away from his tree. He finds a plank of wood, a few screws, and the other piece of a lock. As he looks at it curiously, Sarafina is first to return from the gorge becoming tired of climbing all over hell and back. She sees Rafiki and heads over calling him.

He looks over at her saying in a happy tone, "Sarafina, what a pleasant surprise!"

"Yeah, it's been a while. Oh, what do you have there?" she asks smelling the plank of wood.

"Zazu told me of Mwezi's latest problem. These items I've found look like they belong to a crate, but I'm not sure."

"Hmm..." Sarafina thinks s she looks out, "Hey, there's some more there."

The two follow the random pieces lying around soon coming to a small fissure in the ground, created when Scar was ruling the Pridelands. Rafiki goes in while Sarafina watches just as Vitani and the two lionesses return calling her name. While they close in, they watch as Sarafina's fur stands on ends with a quick flick of her tail. When they finaly reach her, Rafiki comes climbing out of the fissure very scared.

"Guys, what's going on? Did you find something?" Vitani asks.

"There's a crate burried in there. It has thick fur on it identicle to Mwezi's." Rafiki replies as he holds up the fur.

Vitani's ears stand up as she turns to a lioness and says, "Ajia*, go find the others!"

"I'm on it!" she replies running off.

Ajia returns a little while later with the rest of the pride. Having overheard of the situation, Zazu brings us in but keeps us just within hearing distance of the others. Timon goes into the fissure quickly coming to the box. Already having been in other parts of the world, he had gained the ability to read and carefully looks over the words printed on the crate while climbing all over it.

"Let's see...'Fragile'...pfft, yeah, no kidding. Uh, what else? Oh 'North America to African Resevation'. Oookay, still not enough. Ah, 'Female Mountain Lion. Handle With Care'. Wait, a Mountain Lion?" Timon reads.

He accidentally slips falling a little deeper into the fissure. Shaking it off, he sees another crate, this one indicating a male Mountain Lion was in it. Seeing this, he darts back up the fissure making it to the surface. Simba asks about what he found.

Timon replies, "Mwezi's parents are Mountain Lions from North America! That explains why she's so fuzzy!"

"Mountain Lions? What are those?" Nala asks.

Pumbaa replies, "Mountain Lions only live in North and South America. They're also known as Puma, Cougar, Panther-" he is cut off from Timon, "Get to the point."

Pumbaa clears his throat, "Anyway, as the name suggests, they mostly live in mountainous regions. Their coats would have to be naturally thicker in order to survive the colder climate. They're not the most muscular built cats, but they're still just as dangerous and are actually unable to roar."

"Unable to roar? But I can roar just fine." I say overhearing.

Huru answers, "One of our ancestors was a regular lion. The ability to roar passed down to each generation."

"So, okay, that clears up one piece to the puzzle. But why your birth parents abandoned you is the other piece." Nuka says.

"Huru!" Zazu says turning and facing him, "It's all on you now. You must aid Mwezi in the search for your parents."

"You think I don't know that? I know our mother said they'd be in the Elephant Graveyard by nightfall. We'll have no choice but to head there." Huru replies.

I look at the pride and say, "In that case, we keep our distance from the pride for now. We need to focus on this as much as possible, and use the Prideland's animals to help us keep track of where those two are moving."

Kiara quickly asks, "Hold on Mwezi, don't you think you're being a tad irrational?"

I reply, "No. I need to find my birth mother and demand why she left me. I want to know the truth, even if it kills me."


End file.
